


Back to Derry (Sequel to The 8th Loser)

by Redheadclover



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2020-10-13 03:56:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 67,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20576063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redheadclover/pseuds/Redheadclover
Summary: Molly came back to Derry with the oath she took 27 years ago, and that she has forgotten all this time.  She's remembering her childhood town, her fond memories with her fellow Losers in the Losers Club, but most importanly, she remembers why she's back:ITNow Molly's fighting IT with her fellow Losers, her old demons come back to haunt her, and her feelings will be placed to the test once and for all.





	1. You Alright?

Ever been to Derry before, ma’am?”

“I grew up here.”

“No kidding!”

“Yeah…yeah no kidding,”

I was sitting in the back of the cab going over the boarder into Derry, Maine. I was touching the thick slabs of a scar there along my palm as I was watching the rolling hills of green trees and dead grass. It was surreal: one minute I was getting a call back in San Francisco from Mike Hanlon, another minute I was back in Maine.

My life up until this point was routine: being a commander in the San Francisco Police Department, living on my own with no one to help me or tell me how to live. It was what I wanted, or what I thought I wanted. This one phone call though, put things back into perspective really for me. Of course, the one main thing I did remember, were seven friends I made and felt beyond loved with. With every single person there within my memories. I knew their names, I might have known thier faces, but that’s all I would really remember:

The 7 losers.

It was still hazy in my brain, something was dropped over and not letting me realize what was going on, well up until I was back within the town. Things were coming back into play now: remming things here and there but not all of it. Something was still missing in this puzzle, and as we were driving along the road, I noticed we were coming amongst the river there that would lead to one of the smaller bridges.

Of course, I made the dumb decision to look.

The water was low, but I could still see it while we were driving along the side and the bank. The grass was growing tall, almost having me feel a bit dream like as we were getting close to the one bridge that we would have to get over to get to the Derry townhouse.

Once I saw the bridge, something inside me almost opened in a way that was uneasy. I was cringing a bit, a memory was slowly coming over me and making me lose my breath for a second. I remember something, way back when I was younger. Something with a car…or was it a truck? All I could remember were the sound of screeching tires, my stomach flying from the drop, and then being surrounded by water.

Water…I was drowning.

I gasped in my seat, grasping the handle there and closing my eyes. I felt like I was back in the water again, trying to cache a breath and not being able to and being tuck to my seat. My head was swimming and lungs were back to being on fire. I felt this before, when I was a child and back in Derry..I felt this somewhere. The roaring of the water was in my ears and the deafening feeling of dying was against my chest now as I finally got my breath back together again and I was slowing cousin down from my panic attack,

“Ma’am…you alright?” The cab driver asked me as I looked to see where we were already over the bridge and now going into the heart of town. I rubbed my eyes now, having my heart still going fast. If only I knew then that It was a sign for what was going to come. I nodded my head slowly now and took one more deep swallow of a breath.

“Fine,” I replied in a gasp, “I’m fine.”

But I wasn’t fine. I was back in Derry with no memory.

* * *

“Thanks,” I replied to the cab driver as I got out from the taxi and stepped onto the parking lot. The driver just grunted and drove off, having me face the Chinese restaurant that we were planning on meet at. I got word from Mike when I pulled into Maine earlier that morning where we were going to have our little reunion, but I was still on pins and needles seeing the others there as adults. I didn’t know what I was going to do when I was going to see those childhood friends of mine.

But most importantly, were they going to be happy to see me?

I checked in the Derry Townhouse for the night, getting myself rady ebfore I would make my way to the restaurant for dinner. My hair was downa dn pushced over one shoulder, wearing light makeup that I woudl wear if I wasn't in uniform. I wore black skinny jeans, boots, a green shirt with a demin layered jacket. I was half concenred and half unconcerned on what I was going to look like in front of my old friends, but the butterflies were still there in wondering how they would looked. 

I knew I changed since I was a little girl in their circle of friendship, I wasn’t as gentle as I once was. Being a cop make me tougher and placed a shield over myself and those who are close around me. Hell, I never made close enough friends that were as close as those in the Losers Club. They were as close to family that I had, at least to me they were, and it might have sounded desperate and maybe a bit loony for me to think of them as family. But to me they were, I didn’t have any other very close friend, of others that went through what we went through.

And now we were back together again.

I started to walk over slowly, grabbing my purse strap along my shoulder in order to both hold me in once place within my brain and to remind me that this wasn’t a dream. Maybe it felt like one, since I both wanted to be excited for joy for seeing those Losers again, or vomiting in my mouth because of why we were together. It was bringing us back, and yet this whole time I forgot about that summer and what it did to us. Why did that happen, why did our brains forget when it was so traumatizing and so scary at the same time. All fo those years spent away from Derry, being a cop in San Francisco and dealing with my own adult life made me forget, made me almost wipe it out of my own mind and memory.

Coming back across Derry Lines made it change, almost like a switch.

Things were sharp in my brain again, things were gettin crystal clear when it came to remembering. The streets we would ride our bike down as a kids, the corner store that I could buy candy or soda from after school, the particular park I would have a picnic with my mom at when I was younger, all of those places were turning things on within my own brain. Not only that, but that summer was making things really come back like I was being slammed in the face.

I felt a small shutter as I was passing by rain gutters, or almost getting a small smell from the sewers in some places. It gave me chills, a non-presence heavy weight was getting on my shoulders and following me over to my hotel room and over here to the restaurant. Were the others feeling the same or was it just me that was going through this? A small hand almost being pressed against my chest, an invisible one yes but it felt like one was there none the less.

Maybe this was some kind of curse, something wanting to push us away from this place and not come back. That had to be the logical thought behind all of this, behind all of what I was feeling and thinking. I blamed being on the force for far too long for making me way too logical or too practical. I was loosing my optimism, the way I used to be when I was younger and maybe a bit more naive.

Walking into the front lobby, I was hearing all the chatter from the other patrons from the restaurant, of course all of whom were going along to their own business. So far I couldn’t see anyone that I knew or recognize, which was a good sign. I gave a small sigh of relief now as I was given a few more minutes of time before I could go in there and show my face. Checking down at my watch, I noticed I was a few minutes behind from the others. Maybe they were already there and talking amongst each other, no thinking that I was going to be there.

“I’m looking for the Hanlon Party,” I told the receptionist.

“They’re in the back party room already,” She replied nicely to me.

“Do you know how many are already here?” I asked sheepishly.

“Only a few, others are on the way according to the host,” She answered, having me nod my head now as I was thinking fo who was already there and who was still on their way. I started to walk over and peek my head around the corner, dodging the waiters as they were going about their work. every step was feeling like my feet were made of stone, but I knew I had to do this. I finally made it over to the opening of the party room, poking my head through slightly and was trying not to be seen.

Three were already there, looking at the fishes in the aquarium, having me hold my breath since I knew who those three were. One of them was the tallest, with big shoulders and feeling more like a giant with a soft face amongst the glass of the aquarium. The second one was the shortest with a perfectly worn jacket over his shirt and pressed jeans, his hair smoothed to the side and his hands in his pockets. The last one made it all too real for me, a flannel shirt with the hair almost flopped to the side though there was shown cases of thinning and maybe some gray there along the highlights.

Mike, Eddie and Bill.

I had to turn away and run to the bathroom before they could see me, my stomach dropping out from under me and making me want to scream out in both fear and in pain for why I was there in the first place. Thankfully there was no one else there in the bathroom as I was standing there in front of the mirror and holding the sink in a death grip. Taking in deep breaths I had to remember what it was like when I was going through these spells, what I learned from my therapists at my work and how to deal with past hauntings. This was the same, it had to be the same, at least in my brain.

“You’re a commander of a fucking police force, get it together. All you’re doing is meeting your old childhood friends that you haven't seen in two decades,” I paused, looking at myself in the mirror, “Why….am I meeting them again?”

I sounded crazy, but I knew this was not going to had me turn my back on what I promised years and years ago. There was no way I was going to live myself if I went home and forgot all of this, there was to be another good kind of force that was wanting me to stay and finish it all once and for all.

“Go back and see that Loser’s Club,” I told myself in the mirror, finally standing all the way up from being hunched over on the sink and moving my hair out of my face. Taking in a deep breath, this was going to be the end all when I walk out of the bathroom and over to where the others were. Once I was there, I couldn’t go back and I couldn’t forget it.

Back into the Loser’s Club.


	2. It's Weird, Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: I'm going to stick with the movie as close as possible with this story, just as I did with the first story. So, if you haven't seen the movie yet: 
> 
> SPOIL ALERT!!! 
> 
> Go see it before you read this, or else it's gonna be spoiled for you!
> 
> Also, please give me a review on how I'm doing! I would love feedback, and if you're a beta reader I would definately need assistance! Thanks!

Finally, after being in the bathroom for what seemed like far too long, I finally got myself out of the bathroom and into the walkway over to the main party room. I took in one more deep breath before I turned the corner and said the one thing that I could only say.

"Umm….hi."

It made me realize that it was the worst possible thing to say there in front of the six of them. They were all looking at me, some of their eyes getting big and almost shocked now as I was clutching my bad with my fingers and giving a nervous look. I haven't seen them in years, and now I was frozen in my spot as the background restaurant music was floating in the air and the other patrons were going about their business.

"I'm sorry I'm late," I said and signed at the same time, sounding very meek and unlike me. They were still frozen, as if they didn't recognize me and it started to have me feel doubt about coming here in the first place. However, the first one to move through the group to see me was the taller gentle giant of a men, a big grin already gave him away and had me smile sweetly at him. I felt a swelling of warmth there within my chest, something I didn't think I was going to feel that night since I thought I was going to get some anxiety. But there he was:

Mike Hanlon.

"Molly Harper," Mike said in a gasp as he gave me a hug. I chuckled slightly, almost falling backwards and hugging him back feeling he warmth of his hug now, "I'm so glad you're here." The way he sounded, as if it was a relief that I was finally there.

"Good to see you again, Mike," I said to him now as he pulled away and looked at me up and down. I had a small image of him in my head when he was a child, when we were all children, and how we met him for the first time. It came back to me: all of us saving him from Henry. How did I forget about it before now? Why now?

"I'm glad you came. I knew you'd come, I knew it," He said simply, pointing at me and moving away from me, giving me some space. I just shrugged, not knowing what else to do.

"Of course I would come," I replied, seeing someone else walking over to me and looking relieved to see me. I smiled widely, watching his arms go around me in an instant. I thought of how tiny and yet mighty this person what and how much of a burst he would give from time to time.

"Eddie," I gasped as he hugged me. His hug was way more stiff and rigid compared to MIke's that was warm all over and comforting. But I felt it with Eddie, seeing him pull back and give me an Eddie smile that I remembered when we were kids. His smile was always big, bigger than anyone else in the group and it was pure innocence as well.

"It's been too long, Eddie," I said to him, eyeing him up and down, "No fanny pack?" I heard him chuckle now as he shook his head and placed his hands on his hips.

"I gave that one up," he replied, squeezing my shoulders with reassurance. We both looked over, having me bombarded by Beverly Marsh and hearing her sigh in relief. Her flaming red hair brought me back to when we first met in the bathroom, after my meltdown from a rude comment and her reassurance that I was brave. She gave me bravery, and I was forever grateful for her.

"Thank God you're here." She said in a breath of relief, "I would have been the only girl here." It was like when we were kids again, the both of us sticking together in order to handle the boys and their antics.

"I wouldn't leave you out to dry with theses guys, Beverly Marsh." I answered back, pulling away and looking at her face. She was still gorgeous and beautiful in her eyes and smile, and her red hair was bringing her tightness in the room like she did in the past. She was always determined and daring, something I learned from her not to be afraid of being.

"Hey, Molly," We both turned to see another familiar and yet unfamiliar face. He swopped me into his arms and having me gasp and laugh slightly. Beverly chuckling from the gesture as the hug was having me feel like I was being engulfed with a large heater blanket and warming everything within me. I didn't recognize it at first, but it was the hug that gave it away. Then I saw his face, when I saw him for the first time against an alleyway wit h bloody belly and a kind voice.

"Oh, Ben," I said in a wide grin, almost on the verge of tears as he placed me back on the ground and stared down at me. His wide grin and softer eyes were enough to have me see him and know his face. He was always so kind in the face, beyond kind, never one sad or mean bone in his body and it was still true to this day. Ben towered over me, almost by a mere foot now as he was grinning from ear to ear. He slimmed down dramatically, the bone structure on his face and the muscle within his arms showed me he grew up very fast.

"You look…good," I said simply, seeing his chuckle and shrug his shoulders. There was nothing else to say really, since he did look good.

"You too," He replied as an answer. I slowly moved my eyes from Ben over to Bill, seeing him stand there with his hands in his pockets and a tilt of his head to the side. I saw the sweep of his hair to the side, how he was still dressing in a casual way and yeah she looked wiser in his years. He was our leader, that much I remembered, how we were all willing to follow him to the ends of the earth and then some. I walked over, seeing him give me a big smile.

"Hey Big Bill," I said and signed his name, seeing him move his hands out of his pockets and then I instantly walked over and hugged him. He hugged me gently back, having me remember another moment when we were kids and I gave him a hug of comfort. Something made me want to comfort him, but I didn't know what it was just yet. I felt it in his hug, how it wasn't stern and yet it wasn't soft. It was just right, having me think he meant the hug he was giving me.

"Good to see you again, Molly," He said to me in his deep and yet soothing tone. I moved away to see his face and eyes, how they were bright and yet uneasy being here with the rest of us. His stutter wasn't there, not like when we were kids, and yet he still sounded unsure of himself. I remembered him being our leader and we would follow him to the ends of the earth. It felt good to see our fearless leader once again.

"Molly Harper," I heard one last voice, both Bill and I looked over to seeing the last Loser there waiting for me it seemed. Bill released me from our hug and I stared back at the man, seeing a somber look on his face with his barely there stubble, unkept hair and his rather large glasses that were black rimmed. He wore a black leather jacket with a loud-ish yellow shirt and gray under shirt, baggy black jeans and sneakers, but all I could see was the young boy who I knew. He had loud shirts, coke bottle glasses and always smile and a grin on his face.

"Oh my….Richie Tozier," I said in a sheepish smile, my heart fluttering in over drive. I could hear his voice as a kid, riding bikes with him and going through our childhood together. He was the first friend I met with the group, and now we were staring at each other as grown adults.

For a moment, neither one of us moved, just staring at each other and having me bit my lower lip. Should I hug him? Would he hate me if I did? Was he was same person I knew when we were children? But then be broke the small tension in the room, walking over within a few strides and engulfing me in his arms, both arms around me in one of his massive hugs as he would give me in the past. I hugged him back, not saying anything for a moment or two as we were embracing each other in front of the Losers. I wasn't even thinking about them at all, just holding my old best friend there and reuniting with him.

"Wow…wow, Molly." Richie said in a nervous laugh now as we pulled away from each other and we locked eyes. I only though of him as a kid, someone who would come through my window and find shelter in my home. He face was etched in my brain and yet now here he was in front of me. He looked different and yet the same, the eyes were the same, along with his smile. Time, like the others, got to him with a few wrinkles here and there and the stubble on his cheeks.

"It's really good to see you," I said to him, not thinking of anything else to say. What could I say to him? I tried to remembered most of him and how he was my friend when we were younger, but there was still a fog there amongst my brain and it was making it harder to remember him. Richie, of all the Losers, the first Loser I met, was still a foggy memory and it was killing me.

"Yeah…it's great to see you too," He replied to me as I smiled widely at him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Beverly grin really wide from her spot and her head tilted. I didn't know what to think of that smile, but I knew it had something to do with how I was acting to Richie. I then heard Mike awkwardly clear his throat next to us now as we all looked.

"Let's all grab a seat."

* * *

"So wait, Eddie you got married?"

"Yeah why is it funny to you, you fucking dickwad?"

"What, to like a woman?"

"Fuck you, bro!"

"Haha, Fuck you!"

I chuckled from their antic as I took a bite from my own plate. We already sat down at out table and we were catching up on each other's lives, what we were up to and what we did. The current topic was love lives, in which Richie was the next target as Bill was piping up.

"What about you, Trashmouth? You married?" He asked, having me feel a bit hesitant to hear about it. Something felt off as to why I was waiting to hear an answer from Richie, who was sitting on my right now and I was next to Eddie on my other side. It felt uneasy to hear his answer, and I didn't know why. But I kept a brave face as the others were talking over each other in disagreement.

"There's no way he's married." Beverly said in a grin.

"No, I got married!" Richie argued.

"I don't believe it," Beverly commented back.

"When?" Eddie asked next to me as I took a sip from my beer.

"You didn't hear this? You didn't know I got married?" Richie asked him about, sounding genuine.

"No," Eddie answered, having me pause too to hear the answer.

"Yeah, no, me and your mom got married—" Bill snorted out his beer and I clutched the table in laugher now as the others were laughing too from his joke and antics. All but Eddie though, whom seemed fine to just drink his glass down since he knew he fell into another one of Richie's traps like when we were kids.

"Fuck you."

"She'll put her arm around me, and she'll whisper to me...." He then spoke like Jabba the Hut from Star Wars, having me chuckle very slightly since he was very good at the impression. The others were laughing too as Eddie was looked more and more somber about it. I couldn't help but place a reassuring hand on his arm.

"Oh I get it, my mom's a great big fat person," Eddie said in sarcasm as I grimaced a bit with a dry smile from how this was all going down, "Hilarious! Hysterical!"

We were all laughing together again, and I briefly locked eyes with Richie after his joke with Eddie. I saw him smile widely at me, maybe it was because I was laughing at his jokes or how I was being my normal self with the others. But it was familiar in my belly, how we were all joking and having fun with each other. It was being home, in which I was, but a different feeling of being home. A warm bath, a walk in familiar rain in the summer.

Or just the feeling of belonging with a group of outcasts that saw each other as equal.

* * *

"Okay, let's talk about the elephant not in the room: Ben! What the fuck, man?" Richie stated as we were finishing our drink there and getting another round within us. We were getting looser with our stances and tongue by the second, but it felt like something we needed in that moment and in that time at the table.

Now, Ben was under the microscope.

"Okay, Okay. Obviously I lost a few pounds," He admitted, going back to his shy self now as he was holding his beer.

"You're like umm..you're hot," Richie stated, almost having Ben choke as he drank his beer, "You're like every Brazlian soccer player wrapped up in one person." Bill and the others were chuckling from the antic too, and I couldn't help bt smile from seeing the small bashfulness and redness on Ben's cheeks.

"Leave him alone, you're embarrassing him," Beverly advised, as he was still softly smiling at him too and Benn shook his head and waved them off.

"Alright, okay okay. Please, come on, is Stanley coming or what?" He asked, sounding bold about it. there was a pin that could drop there on the ground, no one said a word now as we were all realizing that there was one chair left open, next to Eddie and me now as we were all chuckling from the thought of our other friend that was absent.

"Stanley….Stanley Uris…Stanley Urine. No, no he's a pussy he's not gonna show," Richie commented, having me go quiet and rethink of Stanley. His face pop up in my head: always serious and stern with us and yet having the small drop of innocence that we all had together. I recalled his eyes how they were soft and yet mature at the same time. His eyes ever left my face.

"Why would Stanley save you, anyway?" Eddie asked in a grin, "Wasn't I the one who basically performed surgery on you, after Bowers cut you up? Holy shit, that's right!"

"And I didn't help?" I asked and signed to him, finally getting in on the conversation. Ben and Eddie looked at me and Eddie grinned, pointing at me, "I was not the one who really did most of the work." Beverly grinned and BIll chuckled now as Eddie spoke.

"Hell yeah you did," Eddie said in a grin as he rested his elbows on the table and tilted his head at me, "What did you end up being, Molly?"

"Super nurse?" Beverly asked me, having me blush and chuckle now as I shook my head.

"No, no I'm a Commander now," I explained both with my words and fingers, the other's looking at me in shock, "At the San Francisco Police Department."

"Commander?" Richie asked in genuine interest, "What, you're in charge and shit?"

"Not yet," I explained, "I'm two promotions away from being Chief. Not to mention being the first Commander with a disability in the Police Department history." I said in a grin now as the others were giving me looks of pride and accomplishment on my own part. Even Richie looked impressed as Ben then pointed to my cochlear implant.

"You got a new cochlear?" he asked, having me nod as I took out it with ease and held it in my hand for the others to see. Eddie was looking at it with wonder, as Bill was more genuinely happy with me as I was explaining it to Ben with interest.

"A few years ago, I help solved a triple homicide case with one of the head Audiologist in California, and he gave me the latest Cochlear Implant model as a 'thank you'." I said to him as Ben took it carefully and looked at it with his fingers, his face lighting up with interest now.

"Why a cop, though?" Richie asked, all of the Losers looking at me now for answer. I could tell Richie was truthful in that question, and was saying to to me like it was just the two of us there and no one else around. His eyes were on me, and he wasn't focusing on anyone else there and I took in a small sigh. Ben handed me back my implant gently in my hand.

"I was thinking of being a nurse, like my mom." I explained, leaning back in my chair and placing my implant back in place with ease, "But the way I saw it, I was never going to live up to be anywhere close to as great as she was. So, I opted for the next one down on the list: Police. It's not too bad once i got the hang of it, and I took to it fast."

"I always knew you had to help people, in some way or another," Bill said in a light hearted tone, having me once again blush now as Eddie nodded in agreement.

"You would have been a damn great nurse though," He commented, the others nodding in agreement now. I looked over at Richie briefly now, seeing him give me a small and yet beyond warm smile. It was making my stomach turn a bit now.

"Please tell me you ended up becoming a Doctor, Eds?" Beverly asked in her soft manner.

"Oh no, I ended up becoming a risk analyst." Eddie answered.

"Oh that sounds really interesting. What does that entail?" Richie asked him now with a cock of his head

"So I work for a big insurance firm…and…" he paused, all of us looking over to where Richie was and we all started to laugh, seeing Richie pretending he was asleep. Eddie's face was going sour again now.

"Fuck you, dude. Fuck. You." Eddie said in a low tone.

"Was this job invented before fun?" Richie asked now in a humorous tone, the rest of us laughing again as the lighten mood was back there amongst us at the table.

"I propose a toast," Beverly said with her beer bottle in her hand, all of us watching her now as she smiled, "To the Losers."

When we were clicking our glasses together, the warm of the room was all over the place. The fact that we were older and reuniting again didn't change so much like we used to be in our younger years. All that hanged was age, age and maybe some heart break here and there.

But my heart was full as I clinked my glass with the others at that round table.

* * *

I was dozing off here and there now, hearing the chatter amongst the rest of the group, but something in the back of my head was eating away from me and making me feel a bit on edge. After the waitress gave us our fortune cookies with spare plates, the mood was brought down a bit now to a small chatter with a few us at a time, but I was mostly quiet, drinking down the rest of my drink. The at edge that I was feeling, like being against my chair and about to fall, was not going away.

"It's weird right?" Ben asked, out of the blue and we were all looking at him now, "Now that we're all here, everything's coming back… faster and faster. I mean, all of it."

"Yeah, you know, when Mike called me…I threw up?" Richie added, his tone was more somber now as we were all watching him in both shock and in somberness too. I felt a bit numb there, hearing this from Richie since it was always so positive, and now he didn't regretful.

"Isn't that weird? Like, I got nervous…I got sick and I threw up. I feel fine now, I relived to be here with you guys….why is everybody looking at me like this?" he looked at us now, as if he was caught looking crazy. I felt the edge within my stomach getting sharper and sharper now as Eddie spoke up.

"When Mike called me, I crashed my car," Eddie admitted, having me look at him with wide eyes as I placed a hesitant hand on his arm without a second thought.

"Eddie," I gasped, "You alright?" He nodded at me, patting my hand on his arm.

"Seriously?" Bill asked in worry.

"Yeah," Eddie replied. I cleared my throat, still holding Eddie's arm now as I felt as though I needed to say something there in the room from what I felt earlier.

"I...umm...I had a panic attack in my apartment." I explained, the group then looking at me now with worry as I was re-hasing that night when I ran home from the police department and was sinking to the floor in agony, "It was a bad one, almost made me sick. Honest to God, I haven't had one that bad since…since I was kid with you guys back here in Derry." I cinched a bit, Eddie placing his spare hand on top of my hand on his arm now in his own way of reassuring me.

"Yeah, I hear ya. You know, my heart was plummeting out of my chest." Ben explained in a hoarse tone. 

"I thought it was only me." Beverly said in fear now from her seat.

"It was like it was pure f-f-f-f---" Bill tried to say it, but I saw the look of realization on his face: the first time that night he was stuttering. It was like he was kid again, using his sentences and sayings to calm his stutters and letters when he would speak.

"Fear," Mike ended it for him."It was fear, what you felt."

"Like we all f-f-feel it that way." Bill commented, "You remember something we don't. Don't you, Mike?" We all looked to him now, as if we were all wanting some kind of answer to this memory loss that we were all having, except for Mike apparently who seemed so sure about us being there and so certain.

"Something happens to you when you leave this town. The farther away, the hazier it all gets. But me, I never left. So yeah, I remember. I remember all of it." He explained. Once he said that, something within me opened up and I cringed, almost gripping Eddie in a death grip now I then knew what he was talking about. Why we were all there in the first place with those thick scars in our palms, and why that one summer made us all make that oath.

The sewers, the fear of the unknown, seeing things adults couldn't see, and that laugh. Those eyes that almost make me lose my breath as I faintly said the one name that we all were tied together from.

"Pennywise."


	3. The Fun Is Just Beginning, Right?

"Oh, the fucking clown."

No one said a single word now as we were all sinking into the same dreadful thought. It was now making me feel that ever-presence chill down the back of my spine and making my palms sweat in earnest now. I was ready within seconds to jump up from the table and run, having me think that I should have done that in the first place since those nightmares that summer and how I felt like I was so close to dying. We all felt it, and the mood in that room of the restaurant shifted and changed from being light-hearted to grim and chilling.

"Mike you said you needed our help with something, what was that?" Bill asked in hesitance now as he saw all of our grim faces and looked back at Mike. Mike was thinking hard, maybe thinking of a way to explain it to us and how to ease this new topic, and all I wanted to do was throw up and run.

"There's an echo, here in Derry, and it bounces back every 27 years—" He started to explain.

"What are you talking about?" Eddie said in a grim tone.

"We thought we stopped it back then, we thought it was done," Mike kept going, then reaching down to bring up and bound book with his handwriting inside, flipping through the pages frantically now. I was taking more deep breaths, not knowing what else there was to do since I was seeing that clown's face in my head, getting bigger and bigger. And then I remembered that time in Bill's garage, when we were looking at the sewer plans, and then seeing rows and rows of teeth about to rip into me.

"Mike...." Richie started, having me shoot a look over at him now as Mike pointed to his journal.

"A week ago, there was a man who was slaughtered.." I wasn't listening at that point, just looking around at the others to see what they were thinking and how they were digesting this. Beverly looked beyond lost, Ben stayed calm and Eddie looked grimmer than before as Richie and Bill were started to argue with him.

"There have already been others, and there will be more!" Mike tried to explain to us, seeming agitated that we weren't on his side with this. Ben had to calm him down, even placing his hands up in a showing that he meant no harm no foul now as Mike took in a breath.

"Let's just let him explain," He said to us now as we were all quiet again and watching Mike in intrigue and confusion at the same time.

"That echo might have changed it, just like ti changed us, but it didn't stop It," Mike told us, looking at each of us in the eyes now, "Because it just bounced back. We made an oath, that's why I brought you back, that's why you're here: to finish IT. For good." We were all stunned from what he was telling us, and I was just reeling in the fact that Mike is under the impression that It came back. There was the logical part of us screaming out that it wasn't true: something else was at play here and soothing didn't fit into this. But the other part of me, the childlike part of us that would believe my friends, thought that what he said might have been true. What if IT did come back, killing more innocent kids and people and feeding again? Why would Mike lie to us about that in the first place?

"Well that shit got dark fast," Richie said in mumble as Eddie reached out for a fortune cookie, "Thanks, Mike." Eddie cracked open his cookie and took out the small slip of paper, scoffing a bit as he looked at all of us.

"My fortune cookie just says ‘could'," Eddie said to us, showing the small paper with that word on it.

"Don't know who does fortune cookies here, mine says ‘guess'," Richie said in an unamused manner, showing us his. I reached out in hesitance for mine now as I cracked it open slowly, making afraid of what was going on and how this could all be some sick joke.

"This is a message," Mike explained, showing his paper said ‘It' on the slip. Now all of the men were showing their own as I was grabbing the slip of paper from my cookie and looking at what the word was:

_I_

"Here," Bill said, taking mine and the men were all trying to decode what was going on with the words. I couldn't only watch from my spot, seeing them argue and move the pieces of paper around to make it sound correct. Hunching over the pieces like the others, I too was trying to figure out the code and what it meant, but the one person who was left out and was silent the whole time, still holding her paper, was Beverly.

"Bev?" I asked her, my voice low over the others moving the papers in continuous circles and arguing on what seemed right. The arguing was getting louder and more frantic as they were figuring out the puzzle with the fortunes, but I was focused on Beverly. She wouldn't ever be this quiet unless something was deep within her brain and it rocked her good. I knew something was wrong, and she looked over at me slowly, having me see the fear in her eyes.

"STOP!" I yelled, locking my eyes with Beverly as the others stopped from hearing me shout and they too saw what Beverly was going through. Bill, carefully and with his eyes on her choked face, took her fortune and placed it on the table, all of our eyes watching now as the word looking up at me and made my blood freeze.

_Stanley._

Bill grimaced, having me gasp and stand up straight like a pencil as he pushed that paper to how they had it. All of us saying nothing for a moment to let it sink in and bring around round of horror on our faces:

_I Guess Stanley Could Not Cut It_

I cringed, having in a shallow breath as Beverly started to sound like she was on the verge of hyperventilating. Finally, Eddie said the one thing that was at least on my mind, if not the others' minds.

"Why does it say Stanley? Someone else, fucking answer me!" Eddie commanded to us as he was pointing to the table now in anger. No one said anything yet, but at that moment the table jumped and we all jumped from the sudden freight. The rest of the fortune cookies in the middle of the turntable were shaking, almost rattling like bones as one jumped out and started to crack open. I moved from my spot towards one of the walls in the back as others were jumping out of theirs from the sudden shock. One makes bird wing popped out and Richie pointed.

"What the fuck is that?" He asked, the small creature in the cookie came out and it looked like some kind of morph of a baby head and a crab creature at the same time. it was in front of Mike, who saw it and heard the in the realistic and unreal cry of the creature and what was crawling over to him.

Another one popped in front of Richie, cracking open and revealing to be a live eyeball out fo a socket crawling over to Richie and having me jump out of his seat. He backed away from the table against the wall as one was in front of me, cracking over and having me scream.

Blood was oozing out, blood and small amounts of chicken ones, but the blood was red hot and sizzling through the plates and napkins in its way while one fortune cookie that had one bat wing poked out was flaying towards Ben and Eddie. They were trying to fend it off as I felt Richie grab my sleeve and I grabbed his back. It was instinct, like how we did the same thing when we saw It in Bill's garage about to eat us. But this time it felt different and yet the same: we both were terrified.

I screamed out as some of the blood was spewing onto the floor and more things were happening around us. I have looked around at the others and seeing they too were having the same experience and having the same kind of fear.

The cookies then started to boil into something that seemed like tar, oozing out from the plate and all over the table now as we were all panicking from the other elements that were trying to attack us from the table. The bat tried to get to me but I was shielding my face now and shuffling over more to Richie, hiding my face with my jacket as we were all moving away from the table and Mike said something out from the mass chaos.

"It isn't real!" He said in confidence now as he grabbed his chair and started to bang the center of the table with all of the chaos on it. We were all watching in horror now as he was hitting it over and over with vigor and speed. I was backing away from the whole chaos not to get hit by a flying piece of glass or silverware as Mike was using all of his strength to hit the center constantly.

"Is everything alright?" We heard over at the opening of the room. We all froze and watched as it was the waitress, looking at us in real confusion as we were all frozen. I finally looked back at the table, shocked from seeing how normal it all looked. None of the tar, creatures, or blood was there on the table, but it was just the silverware and table cloth instead of getting the end of the rage from Mike and is chair.

"Yeah, yeah could we get the check?" Richie asked next to me now as he looked at the waitress. I watched her nod and walk away as if she was trying not to look at any of the damage that was done to the restaurant. I was still shaking from all that happened, as well as the others were trying to digest what just happened there and how we were the only ones that saw it. Richie looked over at me now, looking a bit concerned now as he was eyeing me up and down.

"You okay?" He asked in a low tone, making me take in a shallow breath.

"Let's get the hell out of here," I said in a grimace to the others and grabbing my purse off the floor.

* * *

"That's what Pennywise does, doesn't it? He fucks with us. Stanley's probably fine."

"Mike, do you have Stan's number?"

"Yeah."

We were all shuffling out of the place out, staying together and not saying anything to anyone else. I didn't want to do anything else but get out of there and at least get some fresh air into my lungs and through my system. We were about to get out of the place and through the front doors now when we heard a smaller voice, the voice of a boy.

"Hey, Richie."

We all turned as Richie looked scared, seeing a young boy standing in front of us in the lobby and looking directly at Richie with the look of innocence on his face.

"How did, who did you know my name?" He asked the boy now in a hesitant and scared tone. I scooted a bit closer to him on one side and Eddie on the other, the both of us almost concerned with how he was interacting with this boy.

"The fun is just beginning, right?"

We all were quiet when the boy said this, looking at each other in confusion now as Richie was still watching him and wondering what to do,

"You think this is funny? You think…this is some sort of game?" Richie asked the boy aggressively, crouching down to almost his level now and looking angry as he finally grabbed the boy's arms and shook it, "Well, fuck you, alright?!"

"Richie, be careful," Bill wanted him, but Richie kept going.

"Fuck you, I'm not afraid of you!" Richie screamed at him, pointing a harsh finger at him now and the boy looking more scared than he did before. He then shrugged off his arm and shrugged his shoulder.

" ‘The fun is just beginning'. A line form your act, dude. I'm just a fan," He explained.

"Those your parents," Richie asked, pointing to the couple walking up to the scene.

"Yeah." Richie paused, having em roll my eyes now as he then gave the boy a grim smile while the boy's father was calling out to him.

"You want a picture?"

"I think I'm good." And the boy walked off, Richie standing back up fully now as we were all walking out together again, barely missing another encounter with the clown.

"Jesus, Richie. You don't remember the line from your own show." I commented. Richie scoffed a bit now as we were going through the front doors.

"I don't write my own material," He replied to me.

"I fucking knew it! I fucking knew it!" Eddie said in earnest.

Once we were out in the parking lot, the others were all hurling together as Beverly was calling Stanley on the phone with Ben nearby. From what I heard, she was talking to Stanley's wife on the other end while Eddie and Richie were bombarding Mike with accusations and questions.

"You lied to us, and that's not okay!" Eddie said to Mike.

"Yeah, The first words out of your mouth should have been, ‘hey man, you wanna come back to Derry and get murdered?'." Richie said to him in a sarcastic tone now, "Then I knew I should have said no."

"Guys," Ben hushed them as I walked over to hear what was going on. Beverly had the phone call on speaker, and I heard Stanley's wife's voice on the other end of the call sounding broken and fragile.

  
"Oh, …he passed." I was frozen, looking up at both Bill and Ben now as we were hearing this news. I was beyond shocked, the emotions within me were flooding me so bad and so fast now as I was about to collapse on the ground from what I heard. Stanley was gone….really gone….and there was nothing that I could have done to stop it. That was the other part of us that never changed: the need to protect my friends. I could stay care of all of them if I could if it was in my power, but this was a blow to the stomach and my heart.

"When did it happen?" Beverly asked in a softer tone.

"Yesterday…..the way he died. His wrists…." I looked at Beverly in horror now as she was looking off in the distance with the phone still close and the speaker still one. She said it first, and the voice on the phone said it next now as I was clutching Ben in a death grip now as Beverly said it out loud for us to hear.

"In the bathtub."

I placed a hand over my mouth to stop from sobbing, seeing his face in my head and how it was something I knew Stanley wouldn't do. It didn't sound like him, it never did. He was more practical than that, his feet were always firm on the ground. But hearing from his wife what he did to himself, that he killed himself without us seeing him and what he did with his life. I closed my eyes in defeat and pressed my heel to my eyes to stop the tears from coming out. I couldn't show emotions, I was so used to keep my emotions on the back.

"Stanley! Pennywise knew, he knew before we did!" Eddie said to the group of us in anger as Mike spoke.

"We have to stop him, I have a plan!" Mike started to explain but Richie interrupted.

"I have a plan, it's called: Let's get the fuck out of dodge before it ends worse than one of Bill's Books. Who's with me?" Richie asked as he raised his hand, Eddie raising his hand as well.

"We made a promise to each other!" Mike argued.

"Well, let's unmake the promise!" Richie countered.

"The other people are gonna die," Ben said to Richie next to me. I watched as Beverly was sitting on the curb of the parking lot, inhaling her cigarette and I moved to sit down next to her and just drink in the news that we heard. I sat close to her, seeing her smoke float into the sky and as placed a shaky hand on my arm. Her grip, unlike Eddie's earlier at dinner, was more of a death grip than anything since she was the one who made the call.

"Other people die every day, man! We don't own this town shit! Plus I just remembered I grew up in this town like two hours ago so, I'm fucking elating! Fuck this!" Richie was already moving to his red sports car as Eddie nodded in agreement.

"Man, I'm with Richie," Eddie voice in his softer tone, though he too sounded scared. Mike rushed over to the both of them now

"Eddie, please." He pleaded with Eddie.

"What, we stay, we die, that's it? I'm gonna go back to the Inn, I'm gonna pack up my shit, and I'm gonna drive to my home. I'm sorry man, good luck," Eddie said to him as Richie's car roared to life. I looked over my shoddier at him, seeing how scared hew as and how he was gripping the wheel in a death grip. A part of me wanted to stop him, but theater part was still reeling on what I heard of Stanley's suicide and it was still making me numb all over and not able to feel anything else.

"You okay?" Ben asked Beverly now as Richie backed up and stopped before he could drive off. Eddie was in his car now I see Richie poke his head through the view of the window now, looking right at me.

"Molly," He called, both Beverly and Ben looked at I was called by Richie. The way he said my name was softer than how he was chewing out Mike earlier in the parking lot, as if Richie was afraid to say my name harshly, "You need a ride to the Inn?"

I was frozen there in my spot now, not even deciding if I wanted to stay or not. Did I want to stay and fight this thing, what almost got all of us killed when we were young kids? Or was I going to run like Richie and Eddie, go back to the life I thought I had and forget all about this and what we went through. What about Stan? if he was alive, what would he have done?

I got up from the ground, having Beverly release me as I walked over to the red sports car, going back Mike who was looking at me as if I broke his heart.

"Molly, no please—" He said to me, having me whirl around and throw up a hand at him to stop.

"I don't…I don't know what I'm going to do yet, Mike. Just…give me some time please," it was all I could say and sign to him now as he was analyzing my eyes, seeing that I was confused and still figuring it out. He sighed, almost in defeat, nodding his head as I saw Ben also looking at me with a small sadness there on his face. I gave him a small shrug as I walked back over to the car, opening the door and sliding in without a second thought. Richie from there for a moment, not know what else there was to say with the both of us.

"So….should I just take you straight to the Inn I take it?" He asked me with a hesitant tone, not knowing what else to say as I looked dead ahead now, seeing Eddie driving sway and Mike and Bill talking with Ben and Beverly walking away too.

"Yes," I replied simply, Richie sighing and started his car up. I cringed.

This was going to be a long night.


	4. You Knew?

The first few minutes in Richie's sports car was nothing just awkward silence. I was having deep breaths between the both of us as Richie was almost speeding down the quiet roads of Derry from the restaurant. It was pitch black, not a soul was out, something I knew about this sleeping town: when the moon came out, it was a ghost town along the streets. I didn't even want to talk there with him, only sit there and just drink in all that happened within a few hours.

For starters, It was back.

Of course, taking that oath when we were kids we thought we could handle coming back as adults. But now it was different, our lives were forever different from when we left the town and moved on to grow up. It was odd, how since we left nothing else came back to our minds and nothing else made sense until we came back here. But now that we were back, that we saw all of the evidence that It had did return, it was too much to handle.

Which lead me to the second discovery: Stanley's suicide.

it was beyond raw within my chest to hear that Stanley did that to himself, to us as the Losers. I always wondered, after hearing his wife on the phone, was what was going on his mind when he got the call from Mike and how he was reacting to the news of the return fo It. He had to have been scared, we all were, and yet he chose a different path. But was it the right one? COuldn't there have been another way for Stanley?

It made me cry a bit more now as I wiped the tears with the sleeve of my denim jacket. How was it I was losing all of my training in the force in just one night? Being a cop meant, at times, to place my emotions on the back burner and to think more with my head. I knew it since I was trained in it and it was drilled in my brain for years and years and countless sessions and cases. But now, since here back in Maine, after being scared back to the state of being a little girl, all of that was out the window and no longer a thought.

"Molly…you okay?" Richie asked in an awkward and hesitant tone now as he was still deriving and going slightly over the speed limit. I breathe in deeply and I wiped the tears to not show it to him as I sat up fully and move my hair from my face.

"Fine," I replied almost too short now as I was looking dead ahead, seeing him almost look out of the corner of his eye now as we were turning down another corner.

"You're a terrible liar," He said to me in a snort now as he shifted in his seat, " You're not okay."

"No shit I'm not okay!" I replied in a short tone with him, "Our friend just killed himself and It is back. How do you think I feel."

"I don't know," He replied with a breath manner as he shrugged, "You can at least talk to me like we used to when we were kids," I said nothing as I felt what he was saying go under my skin, "Shit…we used to talk when we were kids…talk better than this I suppose."

"Yeah, we did, didn't we?" I asked almost sheepishly, thinking back to how we would have our conversations with each other and make each other laugh. It mad eye almost smile there in the car, but it didn't come out at all as we took another turn to the left and was almost at the hotel.

"So…" Richie started, being as awkward as ever now as he cleared his throat tightened his grip on the handle, "You're a cop. Man, I gotta tell you, never took you as someone who would be a cop,"

"What did you think I was gonna be, anywho?" I asked him, genuinely interested since we were going to have this conversation together in the car.

"Honestly….no idea," Richie said to me in an honest tone, in which I finally gave him a look now since I had no idea what he meant by that, "But let's be honest, you were gonna do something meaningful with your life with whatever you did."

"And you weren't?" I asked him back, "Being one of the top comedians was not up to par with me being a cop?"

"I'm an okay comedian," He argued with me, having me gesture to his car and all of the gadgets inside.

"Clearly," I added, seeing him smirk now as he was staring at the road and I couldn't help but smile too now that we were just being ourselves again, given the circumstances.

"Touché." He said in a grin now as we were slowly getting comfortable in that car again between the both of us as I was now thinking of what else we could say about this current situation we were in. The phone call, the sudden need to flee from both Richie and Eddie who didn't intend on staying there and fighting It. So what was I going to do?

"You're staying, right?" Richie asked me out of the blue, having me give him a hard look.

"I don't know," I replied, not knowing what else to say to him. He almost looked offended, as if I said the wrong thing and made him feel worse.

"What do you mean you don't know?" He asked, almost raising his voice a bit now as I pointed at him.

"You're the one leaving with Eddie," I countered back at him, "So why does it matter if I do choose to stay and help Mike?"

"Because you're Molly…. you're supposed to…I don't know…" Richie railed off, now trying to find the right words as we were pulling over to the side of the road, seeing the Inn on the other side of the street. I eyed, Richie, seeing him turn off the car now as he kept his hands on the wheel and thought to himself. I felt kind of bad that this was how we were having our reunion with each other and away from the others: an argument in his car.

"Look, Richie," I started with him as we were sitting side by side, "I know it's been a long time since we've been together here in town. And I know that being here is not the best way of seeing each other, let alone dealing with this…It shit. But I've changed since we were kids…hell, we all have,"

"Way to lighten this reunion," Richie snarked at me.

"Beep beep!" I countered, hearing him go quiet as I faced him fully in my seat, seeing him still holding the wheel as if he was afraid and thinking to himself too, "I'm just saying…..It's good to see you."

He slowly gave me a soft smile, but not a big one that I knew and loved on his face. This one was small enough for me to understand what he was feeling. Hr was never one to wear his real emotions on his sleeve, not like how I was when I was younger. But we were having our small moment there in the car in the middle of the night, right in the throws of what be our deaths at the hands of It.

I needed to have this moment with Richie before he would leave if he chose to. One part of me wanted to scream out for him not to leave, for him to remember the oath that we did make together as a group. But I knew from the other side where he was coming from.

"It's good to see you too, Molly." He said to me in his kinder tone now as he took in another breath and rearranged his glasses there on his nose, "When I got the call from Mike, for some reason, I thought of you."

"You did?" I asked.

"Yeah, you and Eddie mostly. I was wondering if you were going to show and come back. I didn't know where you were and what you were up to, or how your life as going," Richie explained, chuckling a bit to himself as he thought about it, "Knowing the both of you, you both could have saved the world without any of us realizing."

it was starting to warm my heart in how he was telling me this and how he was raw with me, in comparison to the others when he would crack jokes and just roll with the motion and laughter in the room. No, with me, he was different but in a good way. I loved his usual self, but I also like these moments when he was raw and real, not afraid.

"Well, given all that's going on, I'm glad I saw you," I admitted to him, seeing how I was smiling when Is aid it now as we saw Eddie' car, along with Ben's as well, parking near ours and I felt as though we should have more to say, way more now as I finally reached over to open my car door and go out on the street. I didn't know what else I could tell him, sensing that Richie was set in his ways on wanting to leave and how his mind was already made up, what could I say or do to change that?

I closed the door and walk across the street, hearing Richie close his door as well. We were all walking together to the front steps and front door of the Inn, Eddie looking determined as well as Beverly as Ben and I were slowly coming more in a hesitant stop. Richie passed me as we were going through the entryway into the small lobby, the lights were still lit from when I left earlier to meet with them.

"Did you already unpack?" Eddie asked Ben and me over his shoulder as Eddie and Richie were already climbing the stairs in earnest.

"No, my stuff's still in the car," Ben said slowly, grasping my arm before I could pass him. I looked at him carefully, seeing him search my eyes as Beverly made a beeline to the study area where there was a bar with plenty of liquor.

"What are you thinking?" he asked me in a low tone, having me pause before I could even answer him, "I don't….I mean….if we don't do something that others are going to die, right?"

"Yeah, but what can we do, Ben?" I asked him as he released his hold on my arm now and we were standing close together and talking in hushed tones, "I think we were lucky when we were kids. But now…now it's different."

"It can't be that different…" Ben tried to reason with me now as I shook my head.

"No, it is," I answered sternly now, my voice getting a bit louder now, "Now we're….we're not all whole. We lost one of our own already to that clown and that was before we could even meet and get our shit together." I felt bad bringing Stanley into this, but his suicide was the main hesitance in my decision to either stay or go. Ben could see it in my face, on how I was about to cry again now thinking about our old friend and how he wasn't there with us that night.

Ben pulled me into a small hug, having me hug him back and get some kind of sense one relief. Leave it to Ben to know how to help one of us when we needed it or when we never knew how to help ourselves. He was the silent observer, but because of that, he knew how to help. I wish I was like the sometimes: analyzing before jumping in.

"I know you two were close when we were kids," Ben murmured as he hugged me.

"We all were close, Ben," I reasoned.

"I know but, you two were different. Just like you and Richie…it's something none of us had with each other," Ben simply replied as he gave me one more reassuring squeeze before he released me and looked down slightly at me. I had to give him credit to making me feel better and for him to make me smile. I placed a reassuring touch on his cheek with my clammy hand, seeing him give me a small smile in hopes I would change my mind and stay.

"Please…at least think about it," Ben asked me, almost sounding so earnest. He was wanting to help, even when it came to something scary and drastic as this, he was willing. I could only give him a small nod of my head to show that I would, finally moving away from him and I finally walked away to go up the stairs and into the room. It was a lot to drink in and try to digest, and it was mostly if I had the nerves to stay and fight whatever kind of It being wet ere going to get this time.

I closed my door behind me and sighed, walking over to my small open suitcase and seeing my clothes were still there, nothing unpacked just yet. I sat down on the edge of the bed next to my staircase, thinking to myself all of the pros and cons of why I should stay there. What were Bill and Beverly going to do? Should I stay and help them? Was there any point of me staying if I knew we were all going to die in the end? Maybe Stanley did do the right.

I rested my elbows on my legs and hung my head, feeling terrible that I would think that of my friend. He had to have known that there was a known chance, didn't he? I looked hesitantly over to the suitcase, seeing the small pouch there on the top that was black. I grabbed it with carefulness, placing it on my lap and unhitching the top, opening the lid and seeing what was inside.

A gun.

I took one with me here, in case something was to happen. That gut feeling being a cop, something could happen and I wanted to be prepared. Sure, I had to go through plenty of examinations and restrictions to have the gun with me on a plane, and I didn't know why I thought it would be a good idea to have one now in this small Inn in Derry. Maybe there was a small part of me knowing that I need it for protection. Did my gut know that I was going to die again, or maybe be close to dying?

I held it in my hands, the handle of the Glock 22 itself was familiar to me, and yet foreign at the same time. I was safe with this: I would use that mantra when I was on patrol or when I had to defend myself. in which I did plenty of time. But now, it was like I was holding a gun for the first time and I was afraid to even aim it. I had years with this gun, and now some clown was making me afraid.

I had to make my choice.

* * *

* * *

"Eduardo, Andele! let's go!"

I was walking down the stairs, my stuff till in my room since it felt like I had to all least to talk to Beverly and see what she was thinking and how she was dealing with all of this. Maybe she could convince me to either stay or to leave. Richie was already at the entryway with his duffle bag over this shoulder. He saw me and he froze, both of us seeing the outcome of the other. He saw that I wasn't packed, and I saw that he was. What else could be said there at that moment now as I heard Ben and Beverly talk to each other in the study area as I moved my eyes from Richie now.

"You knew how Stanley would die, you knew."

Both Riche and I stopped and looked at Beverly, seeing that she was frozen in her spot from being caught by Ben. Did she know? She knew how Stanley was going to die, and yet another mystery was brought to the table now as I walked down the stairs and met with Richie now as he was walking over to them now.

"Wait what?" Richie asked as I saw Beverly look petrified.

"I can't do this," Beverly mumbled as she moved past Richie and Ben.

"She knew how Stanley was going to die, is that what she said?" Richie asked in shock as Beverly almost sprinted into the enrty way now with Ben adn Richie trialing behind her now as I saw her lock eyes with me for a brief second.

"You can't just walk away frmo this. How did you know he killed himself? Talk to me, Just talk to me like we used to. Come on, how did you know?" Ben asked her, getting bolder in his tone with her as he was blocking her. Beverly still looekd at me now as I was giving her a scared look.

"Answer him, Beverly, please," I pleaded with her since now I wanted to know what happened and how she knew before we did, "How did you know?"

"Because I saw it." She asnwered Ben now, not one of us was moving from our spots, "I saw all of us die."

Well, shit.


	5. Remember What?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just like my previous story, when a person is using sing language, I'll put it in Italics! It'll make it easier and smoother on my part!
> 
> Please leave me a review and let me know how I'm doing!!

"Wait a minute.What do you mean you've seen us all die?" Eddie asked after he was down pacing the room.We were all in the saloon, surrounding Beverly after she dropped that bombshell on us about all of us dying now.I was with Ben near the bar, sitting on a bar stool as Eddie was pacing and decrypting it in his mind, leaving Richie to stand off to himself and watching Beverly like a hawk.

"Cause I gotta be honest: that's a fuck-up thing to drop on somebody," Richie commented in a dry ominous tone as Beverly quickly wrapped her tear from her stricken face. 

"Every night since Derry I've' been….having these nightmares," Beverly explained in his waving tone as if she was about to be in tear once more.

"So you have nightmares!I have nightmares, people have nightmares that doesn't mean your visions are true." Eddie argued with her, trying to find some reasoning behind all of this. 

"I've watched every single one of us…" Beverly started in a quivering tone.

"You've seen e-e-every single one of us what?" We all looked to see both Bill and Mike walking into the saloon where we were as Bill got to her level and watch her in earnest now.

"The same place where Stanley ended up, that's how we end," Beverly ended now to him, looking only at him now with her harsh whisper of a voice.

"How come the rest of us aren't seen this shit, what makes her so different?" Richie asked next to me as he was pointing to Beverly.

"The deadlights," Mike replied without a second thought.I didn't know what he was thinking about at first, but then it felt like I was sucked back in time to when we were back in the sewers as kids.Beverly and I were taken by It, but Beverly was the only one who saw something from the deadlights, being in some kind of trance my It and the others reviving her.Me, I was mostly knocked out by a blow from It, but I remembered what I saw.All of us, together just like this, talking about how we were going to fight this time.I kept quiet though, this focus was only on Beverly now since she was the only one. 

"She was the only one who was c-c-caught in the deadlights," Bill explained as he remembered, as did the rest of us.

"We were all touched by it, changed, deep down, like it's an infection or a virus. A virus, slowly, that's been growing for 27 years, the whole time, metastasizing.It got to Stan first because—"

"He was the weakest," Richie said softly.We all gave him a look now as if he was stepping over the line.It felt like it to me, maybe to the others. 

"Jesus Christ Rich," Bill said to him.

"I'm just saying what everyone else was thinking, man," Richie argued with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I mean, come on Richie," I waned him now as he was giving me an almost apologetic look as I signed _Stop_ to him. He threw up his hands at me to show he was done. 

"What Beverly seems it will come to pass.It's what'll happen to all of us eventually unless we stop It." Mike explained to us.I saw Richie walk over next to me behind the bar as he was watching Mike, still in disbelief in all of this.

"How in the hell are we supposed to do that?" I asked him now with some signing out of frustration since it was the obvious and important question that was all on our minds now late in the night. 

"The Ritual of Chud," Mike answered.Richie, giving him a sour look as I was behind confused as to what that was.

"The first ones who fought It, they were saying:All living things must abide by the laws of the shape they inhabit."

"A tribal Ritual?!Are you fucking kidding me, man?" Richie asked, "Alright there's gotta be another way.This thing comes back every what, every 27 years? Let's just kick the can down the road and do it then."

"We're gonna be 70 years old, asshole!" Eddie barked back at him.

"None of us make it another 20 years, the way It happens," Beverly said gravelly to the group now as Bill was sitting behind her and placing a hand on her shoulder in some kind fo support. 

"So, if we don't beat it this cycle, then…" Ben trailed off, having my bit my lower lip as all of the pieces were coming together now in my head.

"We die," I answered.

"Horribly," Eddie added.

"Yeah, I don't need the ‘horribly' part," Richie advised him in a monotone.

"Well I didn't say it, she said it.Not me," Eddie replied to Richie.

"Hey guys look, I've seen w-w-what he's talking about and it's a-a-a-all true." Bill explained, looking at each of us now in the eye to make sure we knew that it was true as well, "It's the only way.If we want this ritual to work…"

"We have to remember." Mike ended.

"Remember what?" I finally asked and signed at the same time, sounding more grave than ever.It was all on our minds then,one of the main mysteries as to why nothing was coming back to us within an instant since we got there.That summer was block from us to look back on, and it was getting harder and harder to recount.There had to be a way.

But what did we need to remember?

* * *

I snapped awake, taking in a deep breath as I was looking up at the ceiling and hearing three taps at the door of my room.It was nearly 2 am the rest of us deicing to call it a night before we would get up early and go through this ritual that we had to do. 

Of course, we all thought Mike was crazy because of all he was saying and how desperate he was, in which we knew it too.But then again, if this was happening again and we had to do something, I would be desperate too.It all switched on us when Bill agreed with Mike, that he saw the same thing Mike was telling us. 

Bill was still our leader, no matter how many years it has been and how long it's been since we were together as a group, he would still lead us no matter what.I felt like he knew we were in desperate times and we had to do something. I knew Bill meant well, He wouldn't do something that would harm us or hurt us, would he?

The door tapped three more times, having me breathe out a shaky breath as I knew those taps.It brought me back to my window at my house, those sounds made me realize and remember it was a signal.There were plenty of meetings in the night or the evening when either one of us needed the other to just….I tried to remember.

I slowly got up, wearing an old police training t-shirt that was a pinch too big for me and some gym shorts that I would use from time to time.My hair the pushed away for my face as I walked over with my bare feet hitting the soft carpet and the soft sounds of nature outside my window.I was paranoid, not letting anything stay open.My cochlear implant was still on the bedside end table, but I wasn't going to put it on for this meeting in the night since I knew who it was.

I unlocked my door, slowly opening it and seeing the small glimpse of light there in the hallway.There was Richie, in his pajamas and his glasses almost half-haphazardly thrown back on his face and his eyes were looking beyond tired.

"You okay Richie?" I asked and signed to him, trying to get the tiredness out of my face and in my voice. 

"Couldn't sleep." He replied as he signed it as well, having me raise an eyebrow at me as I shrugged.

"So you came to my room?"I wondered at him.He thought about it for a moment or so before he cocked his head at me and used his dominate hand to sign.

_Just like old times._

I had to give him a small but tired smile at the same time.It was just like old times, how we would somehow come together and just talk without the others around.They were all probably asleep, or just Richie and I, staying awake and trying to figure out what they were going to do moving forward.It was a hard pill to swallow for all of us, so it was kind of nice knowing that I wasn't the only one.

"Yeah," I replied, moving out of the way and turning on the light, "Come on, Rich."

He moved in as I close the door behind him, staying there for a moment or so to get my brain to wake up fully now as I then looked down at what I was wearing, almost a bit too startled to think of putting on at least my sweatshirt since it was cool, but cold, in the room.

"Sorry for coming in this late," He started to say as I locked the door and walked over to sit on my now unmade bed, looking up at him as he was thinking to himself.Richie was wearing a thin t-shirt, plaid pajamas, a few holes near his feet.It was just like him to were something for a long as possible before it would tear literally into thread.I waved him off.

"It's fine, I woke up from a nightmare and it wasn't going to let me go back to sleep," I explained as he looked at me uneasy now. 

"What kind of nightmare?" He asked me, almost as if he was thinking of something else in the back of his mind.I tried to think about it for a moment or two, but now it was getting hazy again in my brain and I was feeling out of it.

"I can't remember," I replied, almost in a breathy tone now as Richie rubbed his eyes.

"That's shitty," He answered back as he pointed to the open spot on my bed next to me, "Can I…."

"Yeah….yeah of course," I replied without being hesitant about it.He walked over slowly, thinking that he was going to spook me if he moved too fast, and he sat down with his hands in his lap.He ruffled his unkempt hair with his calloused fingers as we were sitting there as we did in the car hours beforehand, but this time it was far less stressful and more relaxing.I slowly reached over and got my cochlear implant back on in case I needed it, though we were close enough in which I didn't think I would really.It was a safety thing for me: normalcy was wearing my implant and it was no longer a burden or a unique thing about me. 

"I had a nightmare of that when we were kids," Richie explained to me, looking dead ahead at the wallpaper that in my room, in which I said nothing and listened, "It was back at Neibolt in that house….when we were all separated.I was back in that room with the clown and how it scared the shit out of me.Man, I haven't had a nightmare like that in decades,"

"I remember that day…kind of," I said to him now, trying to think back to when we were there at the house.Some of them: Bill Richie and Eddie, went inside the house to find out more about Pennywise.I was somewhere outside, somewhere in the backyard with dead grass and someone screaming.Was I screaming? 

"You got hurt…Eddie broke his arm….and I almost killed Bill for getting you two hurt," Richie explained to me as I looked at him in shock.He had a small look on his face from remembering, how it was haunting him at that moment now as we were sitting side by side.Now it was getting clearer: Eddie's arm was almost popped off and my leg was….my leg…

"My leg," I said out of the blue, looking down at my leg and turning it slightly to see the long thin scar the was curved perfectly and smoothly.I reached down to touch it, instantly re-feeing that moment when I thought I was going to die at the hands of the clown.It was going to pull me down to a pit of tar, or something else that would kill me, and it made me drained remembering it.

"Goddamnit…this town is making me crazy,"I grumbled now as I released my leg there in front of me and sat back up completely.Richie was watching me the whole time, seeing how I was reacting to what I bringing back from the far part of my memory. 

"You and me both," He replied smoothly now as we were watching each other, "This whole….Ritual bullshit thing that Mike told us we had to do…"

"You think it's a hoax or something?"I asked.

"Well, it sounds very much like from fantasy bullshit that Ben would read, don't you think?" Richie countered back at me, having me think about it for a moment.

"Yeah, but if Bill thinks its right, then it has to be," I reminded him, seeing him almost smirk from the remark I gave him.

"Big Bill, he never stirred us wrong in the past," he said, mostly to himself in dry humor now in which made me sighed out loud.I didn't know if it was sarcastic or not, but it was still something Richie would say about Bill.We were quiet again, sitting there in the wee hours of the morning and just enjoying each other's company and presence.I needed something like this from the moment I came over the Derry town line, and I think Richie needed it as well.

"I didn't mean to sound….bitchy back there in the car," I explained to him, thinking it was the best time to try and explained myself to him in how I was reacting all of this.

"You sounded bitchy?" Richie asked me, sounding surprised as I eyed him, "You sounded like your normal self to me."

"I mean it, Richie.."

"I did too, hell Eddie is bitchier than you are, and that's on a good day." Richie joked, having me giggle and hold up a hand to him.

"Beep beep, okay." I said in a small laugh as he was grinning too, "I'm just saying…I didn't like how I acted to you."

"Me neither," He replied into the room, "I was just being a dick with what we're about to do with this fucking clown—"

"You're staying?" I asked him suddenly, almost sounding like I was in pure shock.He paused briefly before he spoke again.

"Only if you want me to stay." He answered.

"Don't make this decision based on me," I advised him as we were watching each other now, "I wasn't the only one how made this oath with you."

"But you're the only one who truly knows me," Richie confessed with his shrugging shoulders and his tiredness wearing in on his face and in his voice, "More than Eddie, I think."

"Well, guess what I'm going to tell Eddie tomorrow morning!" I said in a small grin now, seeing him roll his eyes at me, "You'll never hear the end of it."

"Great, a complaining Eddie all grown up," He grimaced from the thought of it, "One of my biggest nightmares."We were shifting a bit now to being tired again on my bed, having me hesitantly yeah over to touch his hand there in his lap and I saw him watch me carefully now.

"If you decide to stay," I started to say, seeing him about to speak but I signed _Wait Please_, seeing him go quiet again now as I found my voice, "Just know that I have your back…as long as you have mine."I had to know that Richie was going to stay on his terms and not let others make this choice for him.He was more independent than he gave himself credit for, and I had to show him that.Even if we were going to die..or something else happen. 

He was still my first friend in the Losers Club, the one who shows me that it wasn't so hard to make friends and keep them. 

"I'll always have your back," he replied to me, having me give him a small tired smile.it was all the reassurance that I needed to stay.Sure, I knew I would have the others to help me and I would help them, but with Richie, it was more sacred.We would protect each other and help one another.I never felt out of place with him, nor did I feel judgment or ridicule.

We both fell asleep, side by side, in my bed like we were kids again.I slept through the whole night without waking up again.


	6. What Are We Doing Here?

The whole town was a ghost town early in the morning.

We were walking together in downtown Derry, down the same main boulevard that we would take as kids plenty of years ago, but now since we were adults, it was different and things felt both the same and yet new at the same time.

I was walking with the others as we were following Mike to where he needed to take us, at this point, I just wanted to get this whole ritual situation over with and done with since the night before felt more like a living and walking nightmare.So after waking up from a restful sleep, I saw Richie left my room without waking me up.It felt….odd…..without them there

I was walking with Bill on one side Beverly on the other side, keeping up their stride as we were going by familiar stores and areas.Seeing those doors and windows were already having me remember a handful of things here and there, adjusting the sleeve of my jacket.

"This is weird," I said to myself mostly, getting some kind of uncertain feeling going within my stomach now as Beverly looked at me.

"What is?" She asked, also signing it at the same time to me as I then gestured to the deserted street we were walking on.I didn't hear anything else there almost our group, not unless someone was hiding behind a building to kill us or they were watching from afar.

"All of this," I answered.

"What, are you spider senses tingling?" Richie joked as he was walking with Eddie.

"No, but my cop sense are.Thanks, Richie," I answered smoothly back to him with hesitance.Eddie chuckled lightly as Richie shoved him against his arm.

"Fuck off, Richie," Eddie grumbled as I looked back over at Beverly.

"I have never seen this place this…empty and cold before," I explained to her now as she too was looking around and sensing the same thing I was sensing too.I knew it was far too early in the morning, and people were probably still asleep, but then again there was another piece of uncertainty there amongst the streets and along the edges of the brick walls. 

"It does seem ominous," Ben said in agreement, thinking about for a moment to so before he looked at me with genuine curiosity, "Is there a sign for that word anyhow?"

I signed it to him smoothly, but then chuckling now as I pointed to him, "That's another thing I don't get."

"What, the word?" Bill asked I shook my head at him as I was pointing to the rest of the group there in our small huddling walking together.

"No, the fact that you all are signing like we were kids," I explained, thinking about it how it was evident back in the restaurant last night when we were together, "I would think you guys would have forgotten by now since we haven't been around each other for decades."

"Huh," Richie said in a thoughtful noise, having me look over my shoulder at him now as Eddie looked too.

"What?" Eddie asked.

"She has a point," Richie said in almost an amusement, "Unless I was with Molly, or you guys, I never signed.Hell, I haven't done it since we were kids, and now I'm doing it."

"Maybe it's part of this whole c-c-curse or something w-w-w-with this town," Bill suggested having me look at him now as he too was talking and signing at the same time.He, like Richie and the others, was doing it with ease as if they haven't forgotten and, which was most bizarre.

"Yeah, something that we were supposed to remember since we were together," Eddie said in agreement, "As it ties are group together."

"Eddie's right," Mike agreed from his spot in the front as we were making our way to one of the side streets that would leadover to the river area, "It's one of the things that held us together."It mad eye feel a bit more embarrassed now that my signing was a huge deal for all of them to remember.I was more curious than anything.But now, even with my friends there, I felt exposed to it.

"I didn't think it was that big of a deal, but I'm just saying…" I mumbled, already feeling a bit exposed as to why this was the big part of our conversation.

"It has to be a big deal if we all remember how to sign," Beverly urged me with a hand on my shoulder, rubbing with gently with her fingers, "That's how we grew closer to you and got to know you: you taught us because we wanted to learn."

"And you were a good teacher at it too," Ben said in agreement, smiling at me with a nudge of his shoulders, "I didn't feel bad when you were helping me sign."

I felt a small smile come back to my lips now as we were walking together again in comfortable silence, though we had no idea where we're going. The sun was slowly coming back up over our backs as Mike was leading down a dirt path that would take us along the tall grass and hidden forests on the side of the Derry. 

it wasn't something that I have been before, was it?Was a place that was supposed to be regular for me, or us?But hearing the small waves from the river, seeing the green trees and almost breathing in the sense of adventure that was along our fingers tips as we were venturing in deeper and deeper into the first and farther from the town itself.

We've done this before.

Ben was the first one, I could see it on his face there as we were looking around and seeing a small and yet noticeable path that we were following with our feet.I knew it too, it was slowly coming back to plenty of times of laughter, some tears here and there, but mostly it was the feeling of safety and protection from the rest of the world that we were in.It was as if I could hear the smaller t memory fo laughing at either a joke or an impression from Richie.

"The Barrens," Beverly said out of the blue, having me realize that she too figured it out as I was looking all around at the nature of it all, feeling like a little girl again. 

"This is where we came, after the rock fight," Ben added in a small smirk.

"The clubhouse!" Richie said in a shocked tone, having me smile widely as I tapped Ben's arm.

"You built that for us!" I said happily.

"Yeah, the hatch's gotta be around here somewhere," Richie said in determination now as he was walking ahead and looking down not he floor for any signs of the hatch.I was doing the same thing too, may be wondering if it was going to poke out. 

"I do remember that!" Eddie exclaimed.I walked ahead, almost in a skip now since it felt like we were so close and yet there was no sign of it.Ben was right behind me too, the both of us were on the hunt and trying to find the right place for it.But it was a bit hard since most of the area looking overgrown and out of place, having me bit my lip now in wonder if we were in the right place, to begin with.

"You know what, I think the door was more…" Ben said next to me as we were both standing side by side, having me see him stomp on the ground gently a few times before something cracked.We both fell, having em grunt now as we landed on something sound and yet crunchy at the same time.It all happened so fast and suddenly, Ben anding on his stomach and me on my back we were covered in dust and frozen there underground.

I puffed out a bit of smoke on my face, blinking a few times and moving my arms around to see if I broke something.Nothing was injured or bruise it seemed, having me look over at Ben and see him give me a cornered look.

"Found it," Ben replied, "We're okay!Come down!"Ben got up carefully now, dusting himself off before reaching down to grab my arm and haul me to my feet.I got up carefully, patting him on the shoulder now as we were looking around at our surroundings to see where we were.

Our clubhouse.

It looked just the same, but now it was smaller since we were grown up and we would have to hunch over a bit just to fit in the place.But the feeling was all the same: some smaller notebooks here and there with our writing in it, maybe to some of Richie's jokes or Eddie's rules of hygiene for our clubhouse.But none the less, it brought it back to mere moments here and there. 

One of those moments stuck in my brain.

* * *

**27 years ago**

I approached the hatch to the clubhouse as it was down in the grassy area, slightly open as I tapped it with my foot.There was shifting heard underground as I waiting and my patience was growing thin by the second.

"What's the password?" I heard behind the heavy door with a heavy English accent.

"What the fuck, Richie?There isn't a password."

"Shut it, Edwardo."

"You shut it, trashmouth!"

"Both of you shut the hell up and let me in!" I barked, hearing nothing at all now since it felt like I was a bit too harsh with them.Was I?I was mad at that moment and I needed someplace to just…..relax and be away from my home.It was rare of me to use my real voice like this when I was more softer in tone, so they knew I was serious when I would yell and boom my voice. 

"You better let her in before she breaks the door down!" Eddie hissed, having em roll my eyes as the door was finally pushed open and I no none other than Beverly looking up at me with a hopeful look in her eyes now.She saw how I looked like I was about to cry and I could tell he was about to take some kind of pity on me.

"Heya, Molly," Beverly said to me, having me give her a small attempt of a smile now as she moved out of the way and I climbed down the ladder that we used as stairs to get into the clubhouse.Eddie and Richie moved out of the way from me, seeing how mad I was, Bill was looking through one of the notebooks we had there on one side of the clubhouse and Stan was at the other side, doing some of his homework on his lap.Ben was fixing one of the pillars of the clubhouse with his hammer, and Mike was reading a comic in the hammock.

They all stopped and saw me as I made it to the ground and I taking a shaking breath.

"W-w-what happened?" Bill asked as he placed his notebook down, "How d-d-did your therapy go?"

"They told me it was permanent," I replied in a bitter tone, not to him, but to the whole situation in itself now as I could see Richie moving over to stand in front of me and seeing the hurt on my face, "Not to mention Belch was making fun of my hearing again and screaming the word ‘gimp' at me since he thought I couldn't hear him at all."

"Fucking prick," Eddie scolded now as Richie placed his hands on my shoulders.

"I'm sorry, Molly," He said to me sincerely.He was always one that would take it personally when I was the butt of those jokes from the gang.It felt like after Henry was discovered and arrested, the others were trying to live on his horror and hatred on us. 

"Thanks, Richie.Sorry for yelling at you,"I apologized to him, seeing him chuckle as he rearranged the glasses on his face.

"It's nothing compared to what Eddie' mom as screaming last night when I—" he started but Eddie threw one of the comics at him.

"Beep Beep!" Eddie shriek, having me look away from Richie.Mike got up from the hammock and motioned for me to sit in it.

"Thanks, Mike," I thanked him as I got myself situated there and leaning into the hammock.I closed my eyes for a brief moment now before I heard someone shuffling over to me and having me poke one eye out to see who it was.Stan was there, sitting on a stool that we got for the clubhouse, amongst other things, and he gave me a tentative smile.

"Did you still want to….teach me some more sign?" He asked, almost afraid that I was going to say no.it was a new thing that we were doing in the clubhouse, small teaching sessions when I would teach the Losers some signs that they might need or would want to learn.They all wanted to know more and more as I was going to more therapy sessions with my mom.It was nice to know that my friends were willing to learn sign language for me.

"Sure, Stanley," I replied to him as I was hearing Eddie talking to Ben about more improvements in the clubhouse, Beverly lightening a cigarette, and Mike turning on the radio.The one person who I saw that seemed out of place, was Richie.I saw him out of the corner of my eye looking uneasy as I was teaching some signs to Stanley, but when I looked over to him, he just chuckled and smiled, looking over at Eddie and Bill to joke about how Eddie was beyond paranoid with our clubhouse and the regulations that needed to come into it. 

What was Richie thinking? 

* * *

**Current time**

I was looking up from the hammock that the crumbled up on the floor and almost torn in two.It made me smile, even it was spewing up from the weeds and almost looking like specks of dust while the others were looking at old things they were forgotten in here too.We were all having the nostalgia of this place, how ti was pure bliss and somewhere where we could run. 

"Hey, Losers…..time to float."

We all looked up, hearing it from the dark part of the clubhouse.I was cringed out in fear it sounded just like Pennywise, having me move away from the deserted and broken hammock on the ground over to Bill. He stood in front of me now, somehow shielding me as Mike grabbed an old end of a baseball bat, Eddie towering in the car and Ben fell int he chair against the wall of the clubhouse, already I was almost having another panic attack on our hands now as we all saw who indeed was making that voice.

Richie.

I sighed in defeat and glared at him as he was snickering and laughing to himself.The others, like me, were most amused by his antics.

"Fucking shit Richie," Bill said as he slammed his head against one of the beams from the sudden intrusion, I carefully grabbed his arm and steered him away from the beam before he could hit his head again. 

"Dude!" Eddie scolded him.

"Remember he used to say that shit?" Richie asked in amusement, not even phased as us glaring at him and breath gout a sigh in relief, "He did that little dance?Am I the only now who remembers that?"

"Are you going to be like this the entire time we're home?" Eddie asked harshly now.Richie looked over at me for some support in all of this now.

"Come on, Molly, was it bad?" He asked me, hoping I would liven it up.I sampled gave him one sign that he knew and somehow loved as a kid.

_Bullshit_

"Okay, just trying to add some life to this shit, I'll go fuck myself," He replied calmly, seeing how Eddie was giving him a look of pure death and he whistled off, his hands in his pockets and not a care in the world.I walked over to another part of the clubhouse where I knew we would store some more of the important stuff that we would need. 

One of them, in particular, was still there, hiding under the cracked boards that were against the wall.Ben made me a secret compartment when I knew we needed it.It made me smile widely as I took out one of the boards and I reached in there.

"Molly," Eddie said as he saw me reach in there, feeling around in the earth.The others were watching now as I was digging a bit deeper, "Molly, what the hell are you doing?"

"I'm seeing if someone took it or not," I explained, moving some stuff around some more.Ben perked up when he saw me doing this, rushing over to stand next to me.

"Is it still in there?" He asked, having me grin at him.

"Only one way to find out," I grunted, grabbing the edge of what I was looking over and trying to pull it out.It was stuck under something, that I could feel since the give was a bit harder than it used to be. 

"If you two have your own personal stash of pornos and you didn't tell me, I feel robbed and betrayed," Richie commented as I tried to pull it out and was almost stuck.I slipped on my footing, about to fall when Ben grabbed my arm and helped me pull some more with his arm.

"What are you trying to get?" Bill asked in concern now as I finally plucked it out from the hole, leaning against the wall and raising it eye level to see any damage.Ben chuckled as I blew off some of the dust and dirt on the top, dusting off the sides and holding it out for the others to see.

"Remember this?" I asked them now, seeing them all slowly smile.

* * *

**27 Years Ago**

"Here you go," I said in glee as I handed it to Ben.I was waiting to give the losers a surprise one afternoon when Stan gave us all showerhead caps to wear when we were in the clubhouse.Of course, the one person who wouldn't want to wear it was a Richie, who was reading his comic on the hammock and Eddie was sharing with him in retaliation of Richie not acknowledging the 10-minute hammock rule. 

Ben was looking at me with a small smirk as Eddie rushed over, looking like he saw Santa in real life and the others came over to see what it was in our hands.

"A first aid kit?" Beverly asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's our official Loser Club Clubhouse First Aid Kit," I said in pride now as Eddie snatched it for my hands and opened the top of the box, "My mom had extra supplies and this box from the hospital and I asked her if I could have one for our clubhouse."

"Your mother knows about our clubhouse?!" Richie asked in a mocked shocked manner while he rolled out of the hammock and throwing his comic down, "She must be executed before she tells others!"

"As if her mother is going to do anything about it, Richie," Stan snarked back.Eddie was touching every single piece of the First Aid Kit with joy on his face. 

"This is the real stuff, none of that drug store shit that we had to get for Ben!" Eddie said in glee, pausing then to look at Ben with a shrug of his shoulders, "No offense, Ben."

"None taken." He replied simply.

"Anyways, I got some stuff we might need down here, including bug repellent and gauzes, along with rubbing alcohol and surgery scissors," I explained.

"You t-t-thought of everything," Bill said in awe now as he gave me a big smile, "Thanks for that, Molly."

"Anytime," I replied simply, almost blushing from the compliment from our fearless leader. It was nice to know that I was contributing to some of this build of our new home away from home, and the others could see it too as Eddie handed it back to me.Stan was the one who walked over next and looked around in our new space.

"We should find a good spot to put it in, out of the way," Stan explained.

"Well, I can make a secret compartment for it in the wall, kind of like a safe," Ben suggested, having me smile and look at Stan with a tilt of my head.

"Good idea, Stanley." I complimented whims being him give me one of his sheepish smiles that I knew I was never going to forget for the rest of my life.

* * *

**Current time**

"He was old before his time,"

"I wonder what he was like all grown up,"

"Just like how he was as a kid….the greatest," Richie replied in a smooth tone with a small smile on his lips.I was looking down at the First Aid Kit, almost clothing it to my chest now as I looked down the open box.It was all organized and neatly placed in rows and rows.I knew it was Stanley that did that since he knew it would be easier for us to have it this way.It made me miss him more, closing the lids and holding it close to my chest as if I was holding Stan as well.I wish I did, and wishing I knew wasn't going to bring it back this time. 

"Okay, Mike what are we doing here?"


	7. You Need Help?

"The ritual. Requires a sacrifice." Mike answered Richie, in which Richie only waited for a mere second before he spoke again.

"A sacrifice? I nominate Eddie."

"Wait, what?!"

"Cause you're little, you can fit on a Barbecue," Richie replied smoothly, Eddie rolling his eyes.

"I'm 5'9, it's like average height in most of the world," Eddie grumbled as he walked over to sit by Bill. I was near the opening with Ben, standing up completely as he was squatting on his toes and we were all watching Mike

"It's not that kind of s-s-s-sacrifice, Eddie," Bill explained solemnly, then looking at Mike, "Mike?"

"The past is buried, but you're gonna have to dig it up. Piece by piece and these pieces…these artifacts…that's why we're here. They are what you sacrifice, and since Stan isn't here to find his, I think we should all be here to find his artifact." We were all looking a bit glum from the news, and that once again Stan was brought up in the conversation now with this new piece of information. I heard rustling, looking over and seeing Eddie place the shower headcover on his head like when we were kids. He gave a small sad look.

"I think Bill just did that."

* * *

It felt good to come out of the clubhouse and breathe some natural air again, as Eddie was helping me out and having me give him a small smile of thanks. The sun was getting higher above us as we were all standing or squatting together, thinking to ourselves of our tokens, or whatever Mike meant down in the clubhouse. The rest of the group was out and standing near Mike now, all of us were hearing what we needed to do next.

"Okay, Mike, so where do we find our tokens?" I asked as I dusted off the dirt on my jeans.

"Yeah, I gotta be honest. With all due respect, this is fucking stupid. Alright? Why do we need tokens, right? We already remembering everything! Saving Ben, defeating It…I mean…we're all cut up." Richie argued with him. 

"That's not everything," Mike reasoned, "We fought It, but what happened after that? Before the house on Neibolt….think." We were all stunned and quiet again, all of us were trying to think back to the summer after it all happened and we thought we were done with It. I was coming up with a blank, a bit fat blank that was looking at me in the face and making it hard for me to even come up with some picture…or moment.

"We c-c-c-c-can't remember, can we?" Bill asked in a small shock now as he was next to Beverly, having me see it on her face too. 

"See there's more to our story, what happened that summer. And those blank spaces, like pages torn out of a book, that's what you need to find. We need to split up, you each need to find your artifact, alone, that's important, and when you do, meet me at the library tonight." Mike explained, some of us looking shocked now as we were thinking of just being apart. That didn't sit right to me as I was coursing my arms in front of me and thinking to myself,

"Yeah, yeah I gotta say. Statistically speaking, looking at survival scenarios, we're gonna do much better as a group." Eddie said in a strained voice since I knew he didn't like the idea.

"Yeah, splitting up would be dumb, man. We gotta go together, right? We were together that summer, right?" Richie asked, having me think he was about to get some kind of answer from Mike when Bill was the one who spoke up finally.

"No," He said gracefully, walking away from us a bit before he looked back at our group, "Not that w-w-whole summer."

* * *

This lead me to be standing in front of the Derry Memorial Hospital, my hands almost curled in stressful fists now as I was looking up at the tall building there. it looked the same as it did when I was here last, the brick exterior and bright windows, and even being outside I could smell the Clorox that was using there amongst the nurses. I was so used to it, a familiar smell that made me almost smile and think of my mother. But I wasn't there for my mother.

I had to get my token. 

"What am I going to find in here?" I asked, mostly to myself now as I walked up the steps and into the front door. It was mostly quiet since it was late in the morning and only a fair few people were there in the ER area of the lobby. The receptionist was typing away at the computer, and the other nurses were too busy to notice me. 

It felt like I was a ghost, but my mind was going way back.

"Excuse, ma'am," I looked over at the head nurse who was watching me and seeing how far gone I looked within my brain. She was a bit shorter than me with her hand on her hip and her eyes drilling into my own, "You need help?"

"No, no sorry," I replied to her in a stammer as I signed it at the same time, "I was just…..my mom used to work here years ago and I wanted to come to see the place," 

"Really? How far back?"

"Maybe twenty years back."

"Huh, way before my time. What was her name, anyway?" She asked me, having me pause before I felt like I should answer. 

"Harper," I replied smoothly, "Wendy Harper." I thought of my mother then, remembering how she would roam these halls and make sure every nurse knew their roles and their duties, putting patients in their place and not seeing a single thing out of place. I knew I was biased when I thought it, but she was the best here. 

"Oh yes. She was mentioned a few times to the new nurses in the training seminars here at the hospital. She made a lot of changes that we still do today," The woman explained now as she looked at me up at down, not in a judging way but with observation and intrigue, "Never knew she had kids, let alone married."

"I was her only one, and she was divorced," I explained, seeing her say nothing now as she shrugged it off her shoulders.

"Well, you can have a look around only at this level, but not down the left hall. It's patients only," She replied, going back to her paperwork. I was glad we were down talking since it felt odd to be talking to a total stranger about my mother now as I walked over to the other side of the lobby area where there was a display case with old pictures and memorabilia from the past. I was looking at all of those things with a small smirk.

Some of these things were here when I was a kid, a few pictures of the original staff when the hospital was established, the first nurse uniform hung up to be pristine forever with white shoes and shoes folded at the bottom, and some of the small trinkets and pieces here and there. One thing that did catch my eye, was a small trinket next to a picture in color. It was lower towards the ground, having me squat down on my toes and touch the glass briefly with my fingers \\.

It was my mother's nursing pin.

There was a picture of her, smiling with the staff members there in front of the hospital on the front steps. She looked professional enough, having me smile from just seeing my mothers face and how she was wearing her hair just right and her uniform firmed pressed. But something was off in this picture, having me look down to see the date of the picture and how it almost broke my heart.

1997\. Exactly 8 years after our summer encountering It.

"Oh ma," I said mostly to myself, missing her piece by piece. She knew how to make me feel better, she knew how to love me as a mother should, and she never looked down at me in a negative way. Before I had the Loser's Club, I had my mother, and she was the one who first believed in me after my accident and how I could stand on my own.

Something moved behind me, I could see it in the reflection of the glass and it was down the hallway now. It made me turn around and see nothing at first. No one was down the hallway, no one was seeing at all now as I slowly got up and heard some shuffling from behind one of the doors on the left side in the hallway. I looked around to see if anyone else was noticing too, but they weren't. Maybe it was in my mind, hearing all these things from Mike, my memory jogging back and not in the best way, it was all almost getting too much for me now as I heard the shuffling around again. 

"These files are in the wrong spot, again! My God these ladies aren't getting it right!"

I heard it on the other side of the door, having me freeze there in my spot as I was thinking now that my brain was testing me and making me go insane. I knew that voice, but it couldn't be true. There was no logical way or reason that it was who I thought it was and who it sounded like. I took a few steps further now, not knowing what else there was to do. 

I realized where I was going and which door was producing the most noise: it was an office. But not just any office, my mothers' old office.

"Mom?" I asked, mostly to myself now as there was more shuffling heard here and there now as I then heard the running of footsteps down the hallway over to where I was. I shot my head to the left, finally seeing what it was and I was frozen.

* * *

**Summer 1989**

I pushed the door open to my mother's office, seeing her sitting there and shuffling through some firework at the top fo her desk and some calming music from her radio playing. I tapped the door three times with my knuckles, seeing her look up and she grinned at me with her kind and a big smile.

_Come in, sweetheart,_ she signed to me, having me close the door behind me and walk over to the chair in front of her desk. I heard finally the song that was playing on her radio: Africa by Toto. 

"How are you feeling?" She asked me with her tone now, having me shrug and look down at my wrapped leg. I was wearing my shoe sand shirt again with my sneakers, but my leg was banged up and healing from my encounter at the house on Neibolt Street. My mom still didn't know the truth: how we were being chased around by a clown and it wanted to kill us all, and I still felt terrible that I was lying to her and not saying the whole truth. But would she believe me?

"A bit better, still sore," I replied to her in a hesitant tone, seeing her pause in her filing and give me one of her knowing looks. She could tell I had something on her mind and I wanted to share it, which was killing me since I did. But the sear of being ridiculed and judged was still there as well. 

"IS there something on your mind?" She asked me, having me fold my hands there on my lap. I bit my lower lip.

"I was just wondering about Eddie," I explained, seeing him raise her eyebrow at me, "Is he going to be okay?" My mom sighed and walked over to sit in front of me, leaning against her desk and farming my face with her gentle fingers. I loved it when she did this: her hold was gentle and about fragile, something I would never fear myself.

"Look, I know something else happened with you and Eddie," She explained, and I looked at her as if she was about to punish me for lying to her and she kept going seeing my fear, "And I know what it means to keep a secret, you're young with your friends." She took in another pause before he continued, having me see the uneasiness on her face now, which was rare for me to ever see.

"I just….I was scared for you and Eddie when Eddie's mom brought you both in last week. What happened to the both of you could not have have been caused by a simple play injury at the Barrens," She informed me, having me inside scream out and want to tell her the truth. But I stayed quiet while she moved some of my hair from her eyes with the brush of her fingertips.

"It scared me more when none of your friends came to visit either of you," I had to look down when she said that, almost feeling some small tears escape. It was true: after Eddie and I were placed in our rooms in the hospital, not one of the friends came to see how we were doing. it was odd, almost like a betrayal on their part since they weren't wondering how we were doing. 

I miss them I signed simply, seeing her tug my face in her hands to have me look back at her, seeing her give me one of her familiar smiles.

_If they're your true friends you'll be back with them again, I promise_ She signed in reassurance to me, having me smile back at her before the door into the office was pushed open abruptly and one of the other nurses came in with a huff on her face.

"Mrs. Kasprak is here and is insisting on seen her son's medical file. " She explained, my mother then moving her hands from my face and looking annoyed already from the news. I knew her relationship was Eddie's mother was not the best: frankly, it was the worst. 

"I'm taking it that you didn't give it to her?" She asked in amusement.

"I told her it was confidentiality, and since the incident last time when's he brought him in on a flu scare, she lost that privilege altogether," The nurse explained some more. Now my mother was rolling her eyes as she got up from sitting at the desk. 

"God, that woman," She grumbled before looking at me, "You wait here, Molly. After I have a talk with Eddie's mom, how about you and I got out and get some food before we head home," 

"You still have your shift though," I reminded him, hearing her chuckle.

"Trust me, Sonja Kaspbrak is going to suck the rest of my shift out of me before I could stop it," She replied, patting my shoddier with her hand before she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her, having me be left alone there in the office. 

I looked around for a few minutes, seeing how it changed since I was there last. She would have time to be here alone in the office since most of the time she would be up and about to see how the other nurses were doing. One wall had bookshelves with books piled and shoved in, some of her nursing certificates were on the wall along with a few pictures. Her desk was right in the middle and on the other side was a dresser with other paperwork to be found. 

In comparison to the head doctors at the hospital, her room was more like a hole in the wall. But of course, being the Head nurse, my mother as not going to complain as I walked over to the dresser and looked at some of the framed pictures on the top shelf. A few of them were pictures of me, having me grin and see that she kept those clean.

Something was on the floor, underneath the dresser there and it was oddly shaped to be something that would be used in my mother's office. It made me almost reach down to look on my hands and knees on the floor. It was ticked, all the way in the back there along the wall, having me squint slightly and see what it was. It made me gasp.

My very first cochlear implant.

I was on my third one that summer but seeing my first one against the wall on the ground of my mother's office. I didn't think I would see it ever again since my doctors would either throw it away if I got a new one or just keep it for more research. But for me to see it, almost covered in dust, in my mother's office, was a new story. Did she take it on purpose? Was there something else behind this?

I was reaching underneath the dresser, almost able to touch it with the tips of my fingers when I heard a bang behind me. I looked over my shoulder, not knowing what it was now while I retracted my arm under the dresser and stood up. It was coming from the desk, my mother's desk to be precise as the files and others knick-knacks were slowly started to rumble and shake. 

I was frozen for a second, watching with bit eyes now as the things on the desk were shaking bigger and bigger now. It was as if something, under the desk, was trying to move it and come out. The one thing that did bounce from the edge over to the center of the desk, was a picture frame. The small subtle sound of what could be taken as an earthquake. Even the floor underneath my feet was starting to vibrate as well when I walked over to see the picture the was there in the center of the desk.

It was a picture of me, but now it was morphing into something else.

The part of the picture where my face is, a smiling picture of me, was not gone and there was a burned mark there, which was getting bigger and nastier. It looked like someone was burning the picture from the backside, and now I backed away and shove my back against the wall. The picture was now bubbling, it was bubbling and something was spewing out from the top of it and spraying all over the top of the desk.

Bubbling blood.

"Poor poor Molly…" I heard from the picture, and I knew that voice as I was looking in horror. It was deep, it was menacing and it was right not deadly now as the picture was husking violently and the blood was moving all over the desk, more and more pouring out from the picture and now about to spill all over the floor.

"You think they love you….those Losers….but they pity you."

The blood was coming out faster and faster, having me whirl around and grab the handle of the door. But there was no handle. There was no door anymore, and I started to panic now as the blood was touching my shoes and stain them.

"You've never had a true friend," The voice said again now as I then grabbed the chair that I sat it, pushing it against the wall and stood on top to get out of the blood. I was watching this thing now, thinking that this was all in my head and nothing else was real but my thought process. I had to know that this was no real, that the stupid clown was trying to both scare me and kill me. 

"It's a liar," I said to myself, closing my eyes and training my brain not to listen to it since I knew it wasn't true. My friends knew me, they knew me better than most others in the town, and I knew that they cared enough for me

"How can I lie when it's the truth?" The voice asked, almost playfully now, "They didn't come to visit you…or to show you they love you….because you will never feel the love from anyone…." I opened my eyes, seeing the picture and how it was both innocent and yet being a menace to me. I knew that this was a trick, that this wasn't real, and whatever It was doing to get into the brain, it was almost working.

"Richie will never love you."

I snapped, gripping the sides of the chair and then jumping over the small gap of the ground that was covered in blood and landed on the desk on my knees. I almost slipped for a moment, already getting doused in blood as I grabbed the bloody picture and gripped it hard in my fingers. The blood stopped pouring from it then but the picture was soaked and about to slip through my bloody fingers as I looked at it dead in the face.

"Fuck you! You're not real!" I said in a roar now as I then threw the picture and its frame against the wall in front of me. Before it could be shattered, it stuck to the wall like it was magnetic. For a moment, nothing happened, no more blood came out and nothing was heard at all. I was thinking then that I went all crazy. 

Suddenly, blood poured out the frame again, but this time it was right at me.

I cringed and threw my hands up, feeling the blood hit me hard and throwing me back and I felt like it was about to throw me against the wall. But once my back hit something hard I cringed.

* * *

**Current time**

It was the door in the hallway, and I was on the floor.

I gasped and opened my eyes, seeing that I was back in the hallway again in front of my mothers' old office. it was now a janitor's office, nothing else was seen there that reminded me of my mother and I was breathing so hard. Was I reliving a moment back that summer, something that shook me after I was hurt from Neibolt? What was happening to me? Maybe this was another trick from It, to stop me from getting my token.

Speaking of which.

Something was clutched in my hand there that was on the floor, having em slowly open it up and see what it was that I thought I needed. I almost sighed in relief, but then it was brought to a screeching halt now as the same nurse who saw me walked over.

"You alright?" She asked me, almost nonchalantly now as I looked from the open janitor's closet door back to her, giving her a small smile. She didn't see anything, of course, no one would see what we went through and saw ourselves, It was part of this curse. We were all supposed to look crazy and that no one was going to help us. It worked when we were kids, and it's working now.

"No…no I'm fine. I just slipped and had a small spell," I replied to her, shakily getting up on my feet and clutching my token in my hand. I walked out at a fast pace before she could stop me, getting out back into the bright sunshine and natural air again as I was walking briskly back to the library. If what I just experience is only a small taste of what we were about to do: we were in trouble.

I looked down, seeing my first cochlear implant in my hand now. I got my token. 


	8. Really?

It was nearly dusk by the time I made my day over to the library, having my token in my hand with a death grip now as I was trying to navigate on where to go and how to get back. I was wondering how the others were doing if they found their token, or of It got to them. That last part made me nervous now since Eddie and Richie were right: being separated was not the best idea.

The feeling the chill in the air now as I was tuning one corner to go down one of the suburban streets that would lead to the library, my memory was coming back since I knew this street. It was a familiar street, the trees the lined the sidewalk, the houses all looked the same and yet different. It made me stop in front of the house that made me lose my breath and clutch my jacket.

My old childhood home.

I walked from the center of the road to the sidewalk, all of it was familiar and cozy within me and my chest now as I looked at it and all its glory. It was still the sea doctor, signs of upkeep were seen since the house was already when we were living there decades back. There was a new roof, a new set of rails around the porch, and new steps onto the porch. But the large oak tree was still there on the right side, the same one Richie or the others would climb up to get to my room on the second floor.

It was soothing to see this house now, already thinking of all of the good memories I had there with not only my mother and the two of us, but with the Losers too. They would come from time to time, having late nights watching movies, or when Beverly lived with me for a few days before she moved onto Portland and out of our lives.

I instantly thought to go to one particular memory that flooded me and my bones now as I was looking at the house and seeing it and all its glory. Back before the infamous summer with It, and when Richie would frequently visit my room late at night.

* * *

**Spring 1989**

"I have something to tell you, Molly," Richie said and signed to me as we were sitting side by side there on my bed, almost late in the night as he was thinking to himself. I was watching him, seeing him look at his folded hands on his lap while I was hugging one of my pillows and waiting for his answer.

"You're not in trouble…are you?" I asked as I signed _trouble_, seeing him almost give me an off look since I asked that.

"Ssmsh…no, why would you ask that?" He countered back to me now as I shrugged.

"You're usually not this serious unless it's important…to you're in trouble," I answered, seeing him think about it and nod in agreement, "Oh, you got Eddie mad and you need me to talk to him, didn't you?"

"You make it sound like I do that daily with him," Richie grumbled.

"Well….you do,"

"Not this time, it's something else…" He replied simply, having me feel a bit worried since he was thinking way more than he should. I nudged him with my shoulder now to get him to talk, at least to me since it felt like we could easily talk to each other about anything and everything under the sun.

"You can tell me anything, Richie," I reassured him, seeing him smile to himself briefly before he then eyes me carefully. The way he looked at me was like he was petrified of what he was going to say to me.

"I think…..I think I like….shit," he grumbled almost like he was about to pass out, having me just wait patiently now as he then took in his breath, "I think I like boys!"

It was simply silent there in the room now as I was watching him, not knowing what else there was to say about it really since he was feeling as though he overstepped something between the both of us. It didn't feel like a betrayal to me, nor did it hurt. Sure, I cared for him as a friend, maybe a a time a bit more than a friend, but it felt like nothing else was there since he was my best friend. Who was I to say what was right with him or not?

"I think I do….I don't know. But then again…I still like girls," He explained some more, softer now since the initial confession out of the way and over with, "Maybe I like both….but I don't know." He signed the word_ Both_ at me, having me see the sign and how shaky he did it when in comparison to how he would sign in the past with me.

My mother was the one who taught me right and wrong, and that there was nothing worn with loving whoever you wanted to love. I knew she's seen plenty go things, and she wanted me to be the best person that I could be. To her, love was love, and as long as those two people were happy, who was anyone else to step in.

"If you like….both guys and girls….then you just…do," I replied carefully, seeing him raise an eyebrow at me now since he might have thought I was going to say something else.

"What?" He asked me, having me moved my hair from my eyes and behind my ears.

"I don't care who you like," I replied bolder now, seeing him almost looked shocked from my reaction, "You can like whoever you like, it's not up to me, Richie."

"Ummm…okay," He replied simply, having me almost chuckle from how he was reacting now as I patted his shoulder, "Didn't expect that one."

"I know," I replied signing _Know_, "But all I can say is that…I'm here for you if you need to talk about anything," He could only smile as I told him that. It was all I could do: Richie had his mind made up and who was I to step in and change that? I didn't think he would have these feelings already, and the fact that he would talk to me about it was enough to show me that he trusted me. If there's one thing I knew about our Loser Club, was that we all trusted each other and cared for each other.

"Damn," Richie said in a sigh as he leaned back and laid on his back and was looking up at the ceiling. He folded his hands on his chest now as I looked down at him, seeing him eye me now, "I thought it would be a lot worse telling this to you."

"That hurts," I commented, seeing him almost give me a small grin as I mocked a hurt face and signed _hurt._

"It's true. You're the only one I've told about this," He said in another confession as I looked at him in shocked, "Not even Eddie, or my parents, know."

"Really?" I asked, almost wanting to sound too out of place.

"Well yeah. Molly, you're my first friend and….I don't know….I feel safe with you," He admitted, having em feel another flutter of warmth within my chest. I knew Richie well, and he knew me. We would go to each other to just vent ur feelings, to be around one another in a sense of comfort and peace. It made me lean back as well and look up at the ceiling too, folding my own hands there on my chest. Richie was watching the ceiling too, a comforting silence was there in my room for a moment or two before I spoke up.

"You can always be safe with me, Richie Tozier."

"Thanks, Molly Harper."

* * *

**Current Day**

I walked away from the house now, feeling a sense of happiness from re-thinking that talk I had with Richie in my rooms years ago. It felt odd that I didn't remember it until now, how after we were so serious about Richie and what he was feeling, we went back to talking to each other as if nothing happened. It didn't shift me, at least I don't think it did.

I felt like we were close enough to have that not affected our relationship to one another.

* * *

I finally reach the library after about 20 more minutes of walking along with the neighborhood that I knew and grew up in, I made it over to the library. it looked the same, just as everything else did around here, and it brought me back to memories there. Ben would come here the most out of all of us, and every once in a while I would be invited to go with him and do homework together. It was nice to have that Ben time, seeing his shy side come away here and there now with just the two fo us.

Once I walked up the front steps, I noticed the front door was cracked open. It made me pause, already having a strong feeling that something else was happening. I looked at my watch, then out at the sky and I knew it was already dark. Where were the others? Did they already arrive?

That's when I heard a crash.

Instantly, I reached behind me to where I knew I hid it. I grabbed my gun, which was tucked behind my jeans against my back and held it at the ready. When I woke up that morning I knew that I needed to have it just in case things were going wrong. It felt like second nature, having a gun on me since I was so used to it. Even though I lasted all day without the needed of it, now I knew something was wrong.

I walked into the library lobby now, seeing nothing there on that floor. It was mostly dark, no lights were on and no sign of life there. Now I was getting beyond worried since we were supposed to be meeting there any moment with our tokens. And since Mike was the one who told us to come here, Mike had to be there somewhere.

"Mike?" I asked, loudly in the room and hearing my voice echo along the walls and bookshelves. No one answered, having me walk a bit more into the lobby in hopes that someone who pops out that was supposed to be there. I heard another rustling of sound, but it was coming from the second floor.

There was a commotion heard, almost like a struggled as I then rushed over to the stairs and looked up the railing to the opening. There was light coming out of the second floor, and I heard more struggling within the room. What tipped it off was one of the sounds was from Mike. I knew it was him, and my blood was going beyond cold.

"Mike! Hang on Mike!" I said in fear as I was hoping up the stairs, almost missing every other one now as I was trying to get him fast. He was in trouble, I felt it in my gut as I was around the second set of stairs and getting to the landing before rushing into the room, cocking my gun and aiming it up in front of me.

There was a band hunched over Mike, who was sprawled on the floor and I could tell he was struggling hard. The man was almost laughing now as I finally spoke up.

"Get off of him!" I said in my police voice, seeing the man almost freeze from hearing my voice and He was still having some kind fo grip on Mike. I took a side step to get a better view of what was going on. The man had a grip on Mike, who was trying to keep him away from his body by pressing his arm against the man. There was a knife in his hand now as it was close enough to press into Mike's arm.

"Molly!" Mike said in a desperate gasp as the knife pierced his arm. I took the shot, hitting the man in the shoulder and the knife fell. The man froze, having em think I got him and wounded him fatally. But he moved off of Mike, slowly and then standing over Mike now, his hands curled in fists now as he slowly looked over at me with death in his eyes. I froze, my blood going beyond cold now as I finally saw who it was. I knew his face, his face was etched in all of our brains as children and we thought he was long gone.

Henry Bowers.


	9. Where’s Bill?

The first thing that I noticed on Henry, there was blood all over him.

Mostly on his chest, where there was a huge wound that was seen and almost black blood already drying a bit, some of it was still oozing down his dirty shirt.Another wound was on his shoulder, right where I shot him, seeing the fresh smear of blood slowly coming down his arm and hitting the floor.What amazed me, knowing that he should be severely wounded with an accurate shot to the shoulder on the bone, he was standing like I didn't hit him. 

His face was the pure same, sinister and yet trying to be innocent.Yet now that he was older, beyond older right the rest of us, the years went on his ace too.Wrinkles and age lines along his eyes and mouth, his hair in tuffs and still in a smaller version of the mullet he had as a teenager.This was old, seeing a mirrored image of Henry Bowers, but as an adult. 

With the knife in his hand.

Mike slowly dragged himself away, clutching his arm that was bleeding and was watching me in horror as Henry started to chuckle from seeing me.He pointed his knife at me, a good twenty feet was between us, as I was still aiming my gun right at his chest in case he was going to do something.

"I remember you," his voice, though deeper from being an adult, still sounded the same to me, "Hell, I remembered all of you Losers, but you…you stuck out in my mind."

"Move away from him, Henry," I said calmly to him as he was still analyzing me with his eyes and how he was shifting his stance from being near Mike to being in front of me now.I could see Mike out of the corner of my eye and I was still focusing on Henry, Mike noticing this and was moving away a bit more without making a sound of a gasp from his wounded arm.

"I didn't think they would let someone like you hold a gun," he almost mocked as me as, keeping my stance stiff as a board now he then pointed to my cochlear implant on my head, "You still look—"

I moved my gun slightly to the right, shooting once and missing his shoulder on purpose.He froze, almost shocked that I would take a shot at him and miss.The sound bounced off the walls and I knew I just hit drywall, but it was an effect that I needed at this moment with him.I aimed the gun right back at him now as I took a step towards him.

"Don't finish that sentence," I warned him, looking briefly at Mike and seeing him reach down onto his pocket with his good arm, retrieving his phone as I was trying to keep Henry was noting him, "I'm telling you to put the knife down.

"Oh see, I can't do that," he said in a sing-song manner now as I was watching how he was having some kind of creepy smile on his face and it was etched like someone else planted it there, "I can't let any of you Losers go after what you did to me.You all make me look crazy….down in those fucking sewers."

I took another step, trying to think of a way that I could get both myself and Mike out of this and not get hurt.Mike was already wounded, and staring down at my old school bully and seeing how close me was to kill Mike.

"I already tried with one of you Losers…" he trailed off, thinking of himself now really hard as I was seeing of that oozing blood hitting the floor near his feet, "The one with the inhaler…"

I froze, not believing him and hoping that it was untrue. 

"He gave me this," He said more lightly, pointing to his chest now with curiosity, almost having a give a sweet of anger within me now since it mentioned Eddie and how he was going to try and hurt him.Or at least Eddie fought back….Eddie can't be hurt.

He can't be.

"If I can't get him, I'll get you." He said sinisterly now as I then saw him grip the handle of the knife there within his fingers.

"Henry, I don't want hurt you," I warned him since it was something that I needed to say to him to show him.This was not the way that we needed this, no one should be hurt in all of this chaos that was It.He just stared at me, almost thinking of what to say next as I saw Mike moved his phone down to lay on the floor.I briefly looked, seeing the screen there and how it glowed

Message sent.

"That's funny," Henry replied, not noticing anything now as he cocked his head at me, "Because right now….I really really wanna kill you."

He threw the knife.

He aimed wrong, having me seeing the glint almost hit me in the eye from the reflection from the light,I squinted and barely moved to the side before I heard a pair of feet running towards me and I was shoved down through a glass display and landing on my back, a body over me.My gun was thrown out fo my hands, sliding along the hardwood floor now as someone was about to grab my throat.The glass was digging in my back as Henry was perched over me with a look that was meant to kill.At first, I was frozen, but then I was calm, looking at him directly.

I went into cop mode.

I punched Henry with one swift hit to the jaw, hearing him runt and move back slightly as I elbowed him with my other arm and he stumbled back, getting up on his feet in a staggered manner.I was smooth when I got him, dusting off the dust as he ran towards me.It was like we were having a sloppy sparing match, blocking his hits here and there and getting his hands away from me now from getting around my waist or arms.He was trying to fight as he did back in school: sloppy and almost uncoordinated.Whereas I had the training, knowing how to fight and keep my arms in.At this point I had to wear him down, it was the better thing to do.

I kicked him in the back to get him on his knees as I pressed my heel along his spine.Henry crumbled down onto the ground in a heap now as I stood over him with my hands making fists in case he was going to do something else. Once he was moving again I backed away and gave myself some space from him again.

"I hate you!" He grumbled now as I could see he was getting cut up from the glass all over the floor.He gave me a deadly glare, "I always hated you."

"The feeling was mutual," I replied in a huff now since I too was getting back within my brain and breathing.

"You were the worst one!My own fucking piss of a father told me not to…not to even kill you!"He screeched at me now, having me watch his every move as he was ruffling the glass out fo his hair, "All because he saved you from the water."

"Tell him thanks for me when you see him in Hell," I growled at him, going into a bolt and spearing him down to the ground, hearing the ground groan from the impact now as I reached up to place a good punch to his wounded shoulder.But before I could land the blow, he grabbed my first to stop me and he threw his punch to my face.I cried out in pain now as he rolled me off of him and we were on each other's bellies, watching each other now like the other was about to pounce.The two things that were within our reaches, the knife and the gun, were so close and yet neither one of us moved.

Henry did.I bolted for the gun, grabbing it in my hand as Henry had the knife by the handle and he threw me to the ground.Once I made an impact, I was on my black in the shattered glass and Henry landed on top of me.

The gun went off over his heart, and the knife sliced my shoulder.

I froze, feeling the intense pain there on my shoulder like it was searing hot pain now as Henry's body was still on top of me, having it be harder and harder to get some air in.But I knew the gun was right at his heart, and I knew he was dead as I was gasping for air and nothing else moved or make a sound for a moment or two.I then heard shuffling, gasping now as I was stuck there against a dead body and glass along my back, which was starting to dig into my skin.

"Molly…oh, God Molly!" Mike said in horror now as he was walking over and crouching over the scene.I was trying to breathe out as more footsteps were heard rushing up the stairs.Three familiar voices were heard.

"Mike, Mike where are you?!"

"We heard gunshots!"

"Mikey!!"

The footsteps stopped in front of the opening of the room, and I heard a shriek from none other than Beverly now.

"She's alright, she's alive," Mike reassured them as he looked away from me.Someone rushed over, grabbed Henry's body and rolling it off of me.I took in a raspy breath of air as if it was the first time breathing for the first time and I was almost crying from the pain.The first face I saw was Richie, seeing him crouched over me and framing my face in his hands.

"Molly, Molly you're okay.Thank, Christ, you're okay." He said in almost a chocked sob now as he saw me covered in both dirt and blood.I was looking at him dead in the eyes now, seeing that he was real and I didn't die after all.Henry didn't kill me, and I looked over with wide eyes as his corpse on the ground of broken glass.

"Shit, she's bleeding," Ben said in worry now as Richie helped me up. I yelped in pain as Beverly crouched down and dusted off the glass from my back and Mike got up.

"I'll get my first Aid," He said to us as he walked away.Eddie couched down, making me look at him with wide eyes with the gauze on his cheek.

"He did that to you?" I asked him, seeing him look at me and silently tell me that it was Henry.Richie was still cradling my head, looking for wounds there on my face.

"You just killed our childhood bully," Richie informed me as if I didn't know.

"He was going to kill Mike," I explained, "I couldn't…I couldn't let him," seeing him and the others watch me while Mike was coming back with his kit and moving some glass away to kneel safely and tend to my shoulder.

"Mike, you're hurt too!Here, let me take that," Eddie said in earnest as he took the kit.Ben was working on Mike's arm now as Eddie was getting my wound cleaned up.I was suited a bit, Richie moving to be sitting next to me on the ground and wrapping his arm around me to both keep me from squirming and to keep me centered.

"Thank Christ you had a gun on you," Richie muttered into my hair as he planted a kiss there, "If he would have killed you.."Within an instant, I clutched his jacket tightly as Eddie was cleaning off the blood near my wound, but then to also know that Richie was alive and he was okay. 

"We wouldn't have been able to live with ourselves," Beverly ended for him, wrapping her arm around me from behind and hugging me close.I sighed, feeling the warmth from them all as Eddie was working with pristine dedication. 

"You had to be a cop offduty, huh?" Eddie almost said in a dry humorous way.Having me want to smile at him now, but I could see the gaze there on his cheek and the small dabs of blood already on his face.It made me give out a sad sigh now as I placed my hand on his that was helping my wound.

"I'm sorry he did that to you," I said to him, seeing him think to himself before he looked at me dead in the eyes.

"It possessed him," He explained to me, having me raise my eyebrow at him now as he finished my wound, "I know it did, and from all the shit was going on, It knew how to get to us and kill us off."

"But he didn't." Richie said, still holding onto me now, "Fuck that clown for trying."I looked around ar the group, seeing that we were all here.But what, we weren't all here.There was one missing.

"Bill…" I said out loud, then looking at Ben and Eddie now, "Where's Bill?" I was worried that we were all here and he wasn't.Was he alone?Did something happen to him already now?Mike looked like he was struck by lightning now

"Wait," Mike said as he looked over to the phone that was still on the floor, grabbing it and dialing before placing it to his head.Richie helped me up when Eddie was all done, I was struggling a bit and squinting when I moved my jaw that was already starting to bruise. Once I was fully on my feet, I reached over and grabbed Richie by his jack toad hugged him tightly.He hugged me without question, having me sigh in his jacket.

"Swear to God I was back to when we were kids…" I gasped in his shirt, "He told me….his dad saved me from dying in the river.That's why he was afraid fo me,"

"You're alive and he's dead.That's all there is to it," Richie reassured me as he was rubbing my back with his knuckles and Eddie pressed himself into my side.

"Mike would have been dead if not for you," He reminded me as he wrapped an arm around me as well.I sighed in relief, pressed my face out a bit to see Ben and Beverly giving me reassured smiles to see that I was alive and well.They too joined in out hug, carefully not to hit my wounded arm now as Mike was now sounding urgent on the phone.We all broke away and looked at him now as he hung up the phone and looked at us.

"Bill's going to Neibolt…alone."

"What?" Richie asked now, almost moving a bit away from me.I felt a twinge of fear that Bill would do that since he did that once when we were younger and he wanted to stop It once and for all.It was the same thing all over again, but now there was more at stake as I moved away from the huddle and moved my wounded shoulder around a bit to get it working and the ache to wear off.If I was still walking and talking, if Bill was still out there, and if we still had a chance to kill It, we had to take that chance.Henry was dead, but he was just a hurtle. 

"Let's go find him then,"


	10. Alphabetically or Chronologically?

We were all rushing over to the director fo Neibolt house now, Bill was the only thing on my mind now since he was alone there at the house that gave us nightmares. Mike brought with him a dufflebag that was over his own shoulder, having me thinking that it had something to do with this ritual that we were supposed to do together. My shoulder was throbbing from the knife wound, my jaw had a bruise already forming thanks to a dead Henry Bowers, and yet I was still alive and breathing. The adrenaline was coursing through me and making me almost lead the whole group now as we were getting close and closer. The last thing we needed was to lose Bill, and yet he was off on his own to face the clown.

"Molly….slow down Molly, you were just stabbed," Richie said to me as we were turning the corner to go down the road that would lead to the house. The others were jogging slightly in front of us now as I was trying to keep up and yet my wound was slowing my down slightly. Richie stayed behind to stay with me so I wouldn't be left behind alone.

"I'm fine, Richie," I replied, squinted slightly from the sharp movement of my arm.

"Yeah, that's your new line now? ‘I'm fine'." Richie said to me now as he was staying next to me and I eyed him.

"I am fine," I signed _fine_ with a jab of my thumb to my chest.

"You're not fine," Richie said in a snort, "I know you're not fine. You don't have to play that cop shit on me,"

"Beep Beep," I growled at him, feeling him then grab my good arm and stop me, the both of us staring at each other. I had to glare at him now since were stalling and the others were already ahead. If Richie was trying to go all protective on me, this was not the best time.

"I just saw you kill our childhood Bully and you almost died," He explained to me boldly and with thickness in his tone, "Did you stop and how the others were feeling when we saw you there on the floor?"

"I'm still alive, aren't I?" I challenged back at him, "I've dealt with worse on the force than what just happened."

"I don't care what happened to you on the force, I care about the fact that I walked in on my best friend with a knife sticking out of her and a dead body on her, and yet you're acting all cool calm and shit." I had to take in a breath as I cradled my wounded shoulder for a moment now as I looked at him, seeing it etched on his face now as I was trying to still be logical with him.

"For a brief moment, Molly…I thought you were gone." He said almost in a broken tone, rehashing it in his brain now as I saw it crumble a bit on his face and in how he was standing there. In my mind, I knew I had to push on be okay with all that happened, not looking back or remorse about it. But I knew my mind was different, it was hardwired differently from being a cop and seeing so many scenarios and situations where I had to walk away with a cool face.

Richie was not about that. I knew he wasn't, though at times he would hide his insecurities with a joke or comment. But this time, it was real, and he had to let me know. It was a new reality and pill for me to swallow and accept, in which I knew I had to take a new route in this argument with him.

"Richie," I started with him, signing his name slowly with my good hands, "I'm sorry if that scared you, It's a normal thing for me to just…keep going and not stop. But all I can think about right now is Bill, and making sure that he has us." He searched my eyes for a moment, having me reach over and take his hand in my own to give him a sense of peace.

"We can't let it win against us, Richie," I reminded him, seeing him look at our locked fingers there between the both of us. He sighed, almost in defeat since it felt like he wanted to say something else to me to make this right, "And if it helps, I'll try not to do anything else that's stupid."

He nodded slightly, "It helps a little."

"Trust me." I reminded him, signed a trust, "As you used to when we were kids. When have I ever steered you wrong?" He raised his eyebrow at me now.

"How do you want the list? Alphabetically or chronologically?" He asked, sounding like dried humor. I gave him a tired smile.

"How about you give me the list later," I replied, "Come on, let's go get Big BiIl." I tugged him along, Richie's hand never leaving my own now as I took in another heavy breath as we were trying to catch up with the others who were waiting for us a bit. I didn't think about anyone else there but I was only focused on our group finishing this nightmare.

We had to finish IT, one way or another.

* * *

  
"Bill!" We all walked up together through the broken fence of the broken worn down house that we visited 27 years ago. Back then it was in the bright sunlight with the heat and fear going down our backs. But now, as adults, in the pure darkness of the night, it felt worse. Way worse. Bill was on the bokken front porch now and turned over his shoulder and saw all of us going through on the dark dirt path. It was creepy how it felt the same when we were in the same place all of those years ago, it felt eerie.

  
"I s-s-started this. It's my fault you guys are all here. This curse, this fucking thing that's growing inside you all, it started growing the day I m-m-m-m-made you all go down to the Barrens because all I cared about was finding G-G-G-G-G-Georgie." Bill explained now as he was looking at us with sadness and a worn-out face. Whatever he went through before we met up here in front of the Neibolt House, it was showing hard in how he was talking to us with his stutter. We were all quiet, not saying anything and we watched him point to the house.

"Now I'm gonna go i-i-i-in there, and I don't know what's going to happen, but I can't ask you to do this," He started, having me notice Beverly reach down into the dry grass and grasping a rusty fence pole, slowly standing back on her feet now as she watched Bill with her intense eyes.

"We're not asking you either," Beverly commented back, how holding the rusty fine pole there within her fingers.

"Bev—" Bill started with her, already looking like he was about to cry.

"We didn't go in there alone, Bill. we're not going to do this alone, now." Mike explained to him next to Ben now.

"We're not gonna leave you high and dry, Big Bill," I added next to Richie and Eddie now as I gave him a determined look. Once again, I took out my gun that was pressed against my back between my skin and jeans, cocking it and holding it with my good hand against my side.

"Loser's stick together." Ben reminded Bill and the rest of us. We were all quiet then, not saying anything now as it was determined that we were int his together and Bill wasn't going to go solo in this. There was no turning back, in which Eddie shuffled with his feet.

"So, does somebody….wanna say something?" Eddie asked the whole group, all of us looking at each other.

"Richie said it the b-b-b-best when we were here l-l-l-last," Bill replied, Having me shook a look at Richie as he was intensely looking at himself now, trying to remember.

"Uuhhh…I don't wanna die?" He asked in a surprised tone

"Nuh-uh." Bill shook his head.

"You're lucky we're not measuring dicks?" Richie tried again, all of us giving him an odd look now as I sighed and shook my head.

"Not that either, Richie," I urged him, seeing him think harder now before he looked his eyes up there with Bill now as he raised his eyebrows.

"Let's kill this fucking clown?" He asked, his voice a bit higher now as I felt as though he did that before. Bill nodded his head with a small smirk on his face, having me remember back in the sewers when Beverly and I were rescued by the others. Richie gave Bill a big look of determination now, clutching my hand in his own now.

"Let's kill this fucking clown!"

* * *

  
The inside of the house was beyond destroyed and almost looking like it was about to collapse at every moment, Cobwebs, floorboards that were out, and broken pieces of furniture were scattered all over the place, the distinct smell of either death of decay was everywhere now as we're looking around with our flashlights and seeing what there was. I was never in the house before, so I followed Bill and Richie now since they knew where to go. I was next to Beverly, Ben, and Mike towards the back as Bill shined a light on the staircase that was going up to the second floor.

  
"Well, I love what he's done with the place," Richie said in a dry amusing tone

"Beep Beep, Richie," I said softly to him as I was looking around at the surroundings near me. it was weird being in this house, almost an uneasy feeling that many terrible things that happened in here. What did happen in here? What did Bill, Richie, and Eddie see when we came for the first time? I was too much within my head to notice how the others were splitting up.

Richie, Eddie, and Bill were heading over to the back end of the house down the hallway as I stayed behind. My gun was out again, a bit harder to do since I was still hurting on my shoulder but it was still good enough for me to use the gun in hopes to help protect the losers. I was watching everything listening for everything that could go wrong now as I was that shivering to go down my spine now. There was something evil about this place, beyond evil as I took step by step now.

Richie, Eddie, and Bill were in what seemed to be the kitchen now as I heard a gasp of pain from Ben. I whirled around, being in the hallway where the boys were and seeing Beverly and Mike rush to him. They were still in the front, the boys were in the kitchen now as the kitchen was slowly closing and I was about to walk over to where Ben was to see what happened when something snapped over my foot and trapped me.

My foot fell through the floorboard and I grunted, having me look down to see something wrap around my ankle. It was like I was reliving a flashback to when we were here before and I was almost killed in the ditch behind the house. But this time it felt both the same and different. Ben cried out again, having me look up and see him fall to the ground on his knees and clutching his stomach while Beverly and Mike were next to him, trying to help him

"BEN! Ben!" Bill and Eddie were pounding against the door that was stopping them from coming through and getting to us. I was stuck, the grip on my ankle that getting harder and adhere for me to break out of. I tried to shove my ankle out of there as Ben's screams were getting more and more frantic and Beverly and Mike were trying to help him. But now my other ankle was being yanked down through the floorboard, now both of my feet were strapped down and making me sink lower and lower.

"Hey, Molly," I cringed, I knew that voice and it made everything go cold, This wasn't real, that voice, so real and so raw, wasn't real. But now, I looked down through the small gap in the hole where my ankles were disappearing. I saw a face, slowly it was coming out from the darkness and it was making me wish I found my voice and scream. It was the last person I would be seeing now.

Stanley.

But he wasn't himself. He looked decayed: his skin was looking old and off-color, the look in his eyes was beyond milky and his hair was covered in dust. I knew this couldn't be real, it was a trick from and how he was trying to break each of us there in this house. I looked at him in shock now as he gave me a deadly but cheeky grin, showing his decaying tooth

"Come for a swim!"

He yanked me downward, having em screaming out and slam my head against the hardwood floor. My gun fell out of my hands from the impact and jumping onto the hardwood now as my head spinning. The last thing I saw was Ben and the others screaming out for me before I was sucked down into the depths of the house.

Everything was dark.


	11. Does It Mean That I Will Die Alone?

The first thing that I noticed, was that my feet were somehow stuck to the ground with something around my ankles. I was still on the ground myself, but my legs were bent to have my feet stuck there along the floor and the rest of my body was almost tilted to the side and resting against some kind of glass. It was thick, having me blink a few times and get my head together. With was massive moisture on my head, sticky and coming down my face now as I was blinking awake and feeling around with my hands. This was not where I was a few moments before. I lost my gun, my head felt like I was on fire, and I had no idea where I was.

Where was I exactly?

I Shuffled my feet, pressing my hands against the thick glass on my right and pushing myself up slowly. My shoulder and jaw were still throbbing, my head spinning now and my breath was short. one minute I was up in the house with the others, seeing Ben in trouble and the others spilt away from each other, and the next thing I knew I was here, somewhere in a tank of glass and alone. I didn't like this as I was standing up and trying to get my balance back together in one space. It was hard since I realized as I was finally looking properly, I was in a tall cube of glass that was shut from the top and rated at the bottom. Outside that tank I was in a dark room, nothing was seen or heard now as I was shuffling and reaching down to get the chalked off of my feet. It was no use, the shackles were toot hick for even my fingers to get through.

This was about to make me panic since I had nowhere to go and I had no reason or way to rescue there. I then heard big drops, water drops in front of me outside of the tank there in the darkroom It mad eye freeze, my hands still around my shackles and I was slowly looking up, hearing the small giggle from none other than Pennywise.

There he was, standing with a rusty bucket of water in his hands that almost looked like it was filled to the brim with water, or maybe it was something darker there. I slowly stood up, placing my hands at my sides and making a fist. At this point, I wished I wasn't shackled to the ground and I could just push through the glass and punch this clown in the face. After all that It did to us, to Stanley, back when we were kids and now when we're adults. Enough was enough as he eyed me with his big grin on his face.

"Poor Poor Molly….stuck here with me…alone," He said to me with his devil-like tone now as I eyed him with anger, "Don't you wish Richie could join us? How about Ben or Mikey? I'm sure they would love to be here with you." he tapped the rusty bucket there against his side now as he was trying to mock me.

"Leave them alone," I threatening him, seeing his grin get bigger now from how I was reacting to him.

"You always have to take care fo them, but now that you're here, and they're up there.." He said, pointing to the ceiling above the both of us with a bloody finger there, in which I looked too. I could hear some noise, a scuffle happening right over our heads and I knew it was the others and how they too were in trouble. It was using this against me: not being able to help others now and being away from them.

"Looks like your grave will be lonely," He replied, having me hearing the rushing sounds of water there beneath me, The grates were now filled with water, coming up into the cube where I was and it was soaking now into the feet. I moved around, trying to find another way out, and as I looked back up to the clown, Pennywise was gone. Now I felt like I was going to be utterly alone there as the water was getting higher and higher now. I banged on the sides of the cube, hoping it was going to get it loose enough for me to ram it open. But it was too thick, the water now coming to my ankles and it was starting to make my head spin in panic. I can't panic, not yet now as I still had time to do something, anything.

What was I going to do?

My head was running with thoughts, ranging from sheer panic to sheer sadness. Why was I in this position and thinking of the others, what they were doing and if they knew I was done here. The small creeps of doubt and hate were coming into the corners of my mind now as the water was now to my calves and getting higher and higher up. That doubt was in the back of my brain, threatening to come over me like a wave. What if they knew I was done here and they couldn't come back down there to get me? What if they were too late?

Does it mean that I will die alone?

I started banging the glass walls and screaming out in hopes someone was going to come down and save me. Someone did have to hear me, and with the head wound along with the shoulder wound, it was getting harder and harder to move now as the water level was getting over to the level fo my hips. My energy was draining now as I was still trying to get some kind of leverage there in the tank. This was not how I was going to die, I was not going to go down like this away from my friends and at the hands of a demented clown.

I'm not going out like this.

I tried rocking the tank now with all of my weight, and with the waters was getting higher and higher along my stomach. I felt it shift a bit, which gave me a small glance of hope now as I was getting a rhythm in how I was moving the cube. Slowly I was getting it to move a bit more while I move it back and forth. But now the water was to my upper chest and almost to my arms now as I saw the reflection of the tank in front of me.

There was the clown again, but this time, he looked displeased that I was trying to break out and I had adrenaline there. it looked like he was standing behind me in the tank and looking over my shoulder now with anger and rage within those yellow eyes.

"You're not gonna win, this time," I said to him with my rush in me now, the water still going up as the cube was almost about to tilt at this point. There was more noise up on the first floor, almost like running now as the Pennywise roared in the reflection. I was pissing him off, which was what I needed, "I'm not afraid of you!"

He screamed, reached to grab my throat in the reflection. I felt it, gasping out as an invisible hadn't was around my neck and I screamed out in pain. He was going to kill me once and for all, with the water now up to my neck and his hand stopping me from breathing.

* * *

**Richie's POV**

"Wait wait," I said, getting up at a fast pace from my spot down with Beverly over me and helping me. We were all in the kitchen of the house, Ben stabbing the head of Stanley to death with big hits to the head, and Bill already yelling Eddie for not getting to the knife fast enough. It all happened within seconds, and before I knew it, I thought the head was going to eat me after all. But now we were fine, we were safe once again, but one thing was wrong.

I looked around, looking at all of us there in the room and how we all caught a breath. But something already seemed out of place. Eddie was counting in the room with a shaky finger.

"Why are there 6 of us?" Eddie asked, the one question on our minds now as we heard banging on the ground below us. My heart sunk back to the floor and I felt everything stop to a halt now as Ben looked at me too, seeing the fear on my face.

"Where's Molly?" I asked in a shutter. Ben broke into a run over to the hallway now, all of us behind him since he caught one something. He crouched over a hole that was made on the floor, I couched with him too and I looked in horror. There was Molly, stuck in what looked like a chamber with water sting up to suffocate her. Her back was pressed against one of the walls and her hands were around her throat as if she was already chocking!

"MOLLY!" I screamed as I shot up and ran for the stairs that would lead me to her. The others were not too far behind now as we were all running as fast as we could. She could only have seconds now as I got to the bottom step and turned the corner.

The tank she was in was almost to the top with water and she was still pressed back against the wall with something, her face was already going blue and she was on the verge of being dead at any second. Her ankles were shackled to the ground with thick chains.

"Hang on, Molly!" Eddie said in a panic as I ran up to the glass and banged it, hoping that I would at least get it to break. It was too heavy for me now as Ben was doing the same thing too, trying to rock it as the water was about to cover her mouth and nose.

"Look for something!" Bill said to Beverly now as they were looking around the basement to find something to break the glass. I looked at her directly in the eyes now as she was looking so weak, no breath left in her as I saw her start to close her eyes.

"Don't! Molly, don't close your eyes on me! Hang on!" I begged her, not wanting her to go out like this. The others were desperate too as Mike too was now trying to push it over. I was feeling as though my heart was breaking all over radian, not being able to save her and watch her die in front of me now as I then noticed something in the reflection of the glass behind Molly. There was someone else there, and it made me grow in anger.

That fucking clown.

"Damnit," Ben said now as he was trying to get another grip. That clown was going to kill her, but we had to stop him. He was sneering at me in the glass, almost making it seem like a joke. I looked behind me, past Bill and Beverly now and Bill looked too. I saw what he was looking at, tucked in the corner and almost impossible to see. An ax.

"Bill!" I said in desperation now as he ran over and grabbed the handle now.

"Move" He commanded, his voice bold and with authority now as He gripped it hard and rang for the glass. We all moved, parted down the middle as he launched the blade into the glass. I watched, seeing the reflection of the clown melt away as cracks from the impact on the glass were forming. The chamber rocked backward now and he fell on the back, slamming against the floor and the glass shattered. Water spewing out of the chamber and all over our feet as we were frozen for a mere moment. It all happened and we all took a shaky breath. Bill was still clutching the handle of the ax now. I looked from him over to where Molly was sprawled on the floor with chains around her ankles and not moving.

Molly wasn't moving. Oh god…

"Move the fuck over!" Eddie said in a panic now as he shoved past me and crouched over Molly, pushing her hair out of her face. I watched, almost in pure shock and not being able to move my legs over to her now since it all happened so fast while I witnessed Eddie tilted his head with his ear over her mouth to hear her breathing. Ben walked back over to me now, his face too was shocked and almost emotional as Eddie grimaced and checked her pulse on her neck.

"Shit," he said, kneeling above her and pressing his joined hands onto her chest. I was confused as to what he was doing at first, feeling as though I should take a step over to stop him since he started pumping her chest. It was in perfect rhythm, his arms were so strong pumping her chest over and over now as I saw Beverly walking over briskly to kneel next to her on the other side, pushing her hair away from her face and seeing the planes on her skin.

"Come on, Molly," She whispered in desperation now as Eddie stopped pumping, leaving Molly's head back with his fingers on her chin and taking in two deep breaths over her mouth. I was still silent, feeling hot tears hitting my cheeks and jacket now as Eddie did this at least two more times, no one else moving now as Beverly took her hand in hopes that it would help. Ben was standing next to me, placing his hand on my arm and Bill was still clutching his ax, almost snapping it in half from what he was seeing.

"Molly," Eddie grunted now, sounding frustrated as he was pumping the third round onto Molly now, the hope of her making it and breathing again was almost slipping now as I was about to full-on cry. It was a pit in my stomach that was growing and morphing into something dark and hollow, watching Eddie leaning over to breathing into her mouth one more.

"Now, Molly!" Eddie almost commanded as he gave her one big breath. As soon as he went up for a second breath, Molly gasped away and coughed up water. Eddie backed away to not get the water on her face now as Molly's eyes shot open and she was finding it harder and harder to breathe. We were all breathing out a sigh of relief as the rest of the group slowly walked over to crouch down to kneel with her. Beverly was helping her try to breath, but it wasn't working. Molly was having a hard time trying to get her lungs to work once more.

I finally snapped into action.

The others were moving out of the way as they saw me glide over and cradle Molly's face in my hands. She instantly locked eyes with me now as I was watching her so close. Her lips were still blue, her skin still wet and pale now as I saw her search my eyes and try to find something within my own eyes. It was like she was desperately looking hard now as I finally spoke.

"You need to breathe," I reminded her calmly though my voice was shaking now as gulped in a breath. I nodded my head as I signed to her:

_Keep going. _ _Breathe nice and deep_

It looked her some time and some moments before she was finally coming back to normal now. We were all sitting there, no one moving or saying a word now as it felt like Molly and I was having our moment together. It didn't feel awkward, it was like the others were melting away and it was just the two of us alone. I care about her far too much, and now it was out in the open for the others to nice and see. But I didn't care, all I cared about was Molly in front of me, and how much I wanted to show her I cared.

But I was too afraid.

"You're still alive," She said finally, her voice was still hoarse and almost out of place. She thought I was going to die, and I couldn't only smile at her now with the tears still on my face. She pulled herself up, sitting up slightly and traced my face with her cold wet fingers, in hopes that she would prove that I was alive. Beverly rubbed her back as I took her hand down and laced our fingers together in a loose and yet secure grip.

"I'm not going anywhere, Harper. Just like we promised," I reassured, seeing her gasp out in relief now as she flung herself into my arms. We hugged, Beverly was giving us a few moments now as I was pressing my face in her hair. She was home for me, just like the others, but she was home. I was beyond frightened that she was going to be lost forever, making it worse for me.

"Hold s-s-s-still," Bill said to us now as I was still kneeling on the floor and holding Molly in my arms. He got his ax in front of him, aiming at the shackles around her ankles. I squinted from the impact, Molly shaking slightly as she was finally free from the chains and we got her to stand back up with wobbly legs and all of her clothes were beyond wet.

"Where's the well?" Mike asked, all of us looking around now, clutching MOlly's hand as I found it beyond all of the glass and water on the ground.

"There it is," I pointed with my spare hand. We were all taking in another breath, dodging another attempt from It. The others were heading over to the broken down well, getting ready for the descent as I was hanging back with Molly and Eddie. Molly shakily pushed her hair out of her face and was holding my hand in a death grip now as Eddie patted her on the shoulder.

"Thanks, Eddie," She thanked him with her soft tone now as he gave her a small smile. My smile was etched on my face.

"Yeah, if it was me, he wouldn't have given me the kiss of life," I said in a snort as Eddie then eyed me carefully. Not in judgment or scoff as he would, but with almost a pang there within his heart now like I offended him.

"I would have," he replied smoothly, rolling his shoulders and walking away from the both of us. I watched him for a moment now as I rethought it back in my head. All these years, those feelings that I was fighting and trying to push around to see what I could feel for another person, it was getting more complicated.

But It felt like it then, at that moment with the two people I loved most in the world.

* * *

**Molly's POV**

We all were walking through the sewers now, I was sandwich between Eddie and Richie as we were holding flashlights and going in a single file line. It was beyond dark, the small was taking me back to the moment in the sewers with Beverly. It was almost revolting as we were looking around in case something was trying to come out and get us. Nothing was moving, nothing yet as we were following Mike. I had no die where to go since I was already down here from being knocked unconscious. I had to follow willingly.

Everyone at this point was on the edge, on pins and needles with nothing else to hold us back at this point. We were so close and yet so far, and I could fell the small tension of a bruise forming along my neck now from my near-death in that tank. For a moment, I thought it was all over for me, but being awoken to Eddie over me, the others sighing in relief and my eyes bright and alert. Richie was hovering over me, and I could have sworn that I was dead and I made it to some kind of afterlife. But it was real, they saved me, showing me once and for all that these Losers were it for me.

We made it to the end of one of the sewer ways that we were crawling through, my head looking around everywhere now as Ben said one stance gravely.

"Shit, this is it. This is where it happened."


	12. Did We Do It?

The small area within the sewers that MIke was leading us was across a river of gray water that came up to our waist. We were going in a line with Mike elating the way, then Bill, Richie, myself, Eddie, Ben and then Beverly at the end. I was still unconvinced that whatever we were about to do was going to work at all. It was still a mystery to me as we were all trying to keep our hands out of the water and go as close together as possible through the water. I was watching head, seeing something floating on top of the water and almost looking like some kind of body part. It made me cringe now as he floated past me, almost touching my hands there that were hovering barely above the water with the flashlight in my pale hand.

"No, no, nope," Eddie said in grimace now as whatever went by me was now going by him. We made it to the other side, climbing up one by one onto the floating island of whatever it was in the gray water. I watched Richie climb up onto the ground, he turned and grabbed my arm to hoist me. I slipped a bit, getting my footing now as I turned and did the same for Eddie. That was when we heard Ben speak in a soft whisper.

"Bev, what is it?" I looked, seeing Beverly and Ben still in the water now. Beverly was still looking at the opening of the swears where we came through, not seeing her move for a second and the others were looking too. Maybe something was right behind us and trying to get to us, but none of us heard it but Beverly.

"I thought I heard something—" Beverly said as she turned back towards us. Something out of nowhere popped up from the water right in between Beverly and Ben, soaring about ten feet high in the air. Beverly screamed, it seemed to be some kind of ghoulish person that was towering over and it clutched with within its arm.

"Beverly!" Ben cried out, moving back to get to her as the ghoul looked at us now with glee on its face. Beverly was in its clutches.

"Time to sink!" It sneered, pulling Beverly down with her into the water. Within one second, Mike, Richie and Bill joined Ben in the water and all four of them dived in after Beverly. I was about to go too when Eddie clutched and pulled me back. I looked at him in shock for a second but he shook his head.

"Don't," He warned in a wave whisper now, having me wonder what he meant. But I knew deep down: he saved my life from almost losing me once. He wasn't going to let me almost die again.

I didn't move then, the both of us watching the water in hopes someone was going to pop up if not all of them. But a few seconds rolled by, and nothing was happening. Eddie was right behind me, holding my arms in his hands now as we were left alone there on top of the surface, no one else was seen now as I was now very much afraid. All I could think about was them coming back, Richie coming back, and things were going to be finished and we could all be done with this nightmare that was going on.

"Guys?" Eddie asked in a scared tone, both of us scanning every inch of the water. Nothing was heard but a few pops of bubbles from below. I cringed, grasping Eddie's hand on my arm now. Where were they? Where was Richie? Oh God, Richie.

"Guys, come on," Eddie pleaded now, almost on the brink of tears as we were both hoping that they were going to come back, "Guys, please don't leave us…please."

"Come on," I whispered to myself mostly, thinking that my internal screaming at them was enough for them to come back. Finally, after what seemed like long moments, all five of them came through the surface and were gasping for air in both relief and fear. I sighed in relief, leaning back against Eddie as we were both glad they were back. The group of them were talking to each other in the water and trying to digest what happened before they all eventually climbed back onto the surface with us.

Within an instant I grabbed Richie and gave him a wet hug, feeling him squeeze me back as I cringed from thinking that once again, we were almost separated by the fucking clown and its antics.

"Don't scare me," I muttered at him, hearing nothing from him now as Beverly was being comforted by Ben. I wanted to see how Beverly was doing and if she was alright, but the hold I had on Richie wasn't letting me do that. He hugged me back, giving me a shaky nod and a serious look. Once we looked away from other, still in our embrace, Richie looked right to Mike.

"Mike, where do we go from here?"

At the top of the mound were looked to be a wood floorboard with something circle right in the middle. We all were standing around it, seeing some kind of marking at the top and what looked like a hinge. I was watching the hinge and seeing what it meant, almost half hearing what Mike was saying to us as we were standing together. It sounded like some kind of code or change as Ben eyed Richie at his side

"Is he okay?" Ben asked in worry.

"I think at this point, that's a really good question," Richie commented back to him.

"What's on the other side?" I asked him, Beverly giving him the same look as well since we both wanted to know. I think the whole circle wanted to know by now.

"I don't know. No one does," He replied to me, having me gulp as he squatted down and grabbed the edge. We all jumped back, Beverly, Bill and I on one side with Richie Ben and Eddie on the other side. We were too spooked, thinking something was going to pop out and get us as there was nothing but a hole straight down, darkness and silence. Mike was the first one, getting his fit there and holding the side now and his flashlight in hand, looking at all of us, We were all completely stunned that we made it this far following Mike, but how much further were we going to have to go?

"See you down there," Mike said, moving his arm up and going down. I instinctively reached out, in hopes of stopping him since it looked like he slipped.

"Mike!" Eddie, Richie and I called out, we were peering into the hole thinking that he fell. But he was crawling down bit by bit, using the rocks that were poking out of the sides as steps. I sighed, looking at Bill now as he was crouched over. He looked at me, and then the rest of the group too now.

"S-s-stick together," He reminded us, then slowly making his way into the hole feet first. He was descending too, slowly and carefully when I knew it was my turn. If I was able to survive all that I did so far, then going down a small hole that could swallow me was another step in ending this nightmare.

But as I was about to get in myself, sitting on the edge of the hole, I saw Eddie moving his head back and forth now with genuine fear on his face. Beverly, Richie, Ben, and I watched him now.

"You guys, I can't. I can't, you saw what happened up there. I was…I was going to let you die," Eddie said in a stammer to Richie, who was standing right behind me, "I just fucking froze up. You let me go down there with you, I'm gonna get us all killed," Eddie stammered, getting his inhaler from his pocket and taking in a puff with fear. Richie stalked over, the both of them in a tug of war to get the inhaler out of Eddie's hands. Richie won, getting the inhaler and looking Eddie dead in the eye now with seriousness.

"Listen to me: You had a moment. Fine, But who killed a psychotic clown before he was fourteen?" Richie asked him, Eddie thinking for a mere moment or two.

"Me."

"Who stabbed Bowers with a knife he pulled out of his own face?"

"Also me."

"Who married a woman ten times his own body mass?" Of course, there would be a pregnant pause there between the two fo them and in the air now as Eddie eyed him.

"Me."

"Yeah. You're braver than you think," Richie said to him with his genuine tone, having me feel it from my spot with my legs dangling in the small hole there.

"Alright, thanks, Rich." He thanked him. Richie was grinning and tapping his damaged cheek on accident now as Richie then walked over to where I was, giving me a tao on my shoulder to show me he was right behind me. I gave Eddie my smile as Beverly was walking up to him.

"You can do this, Eddie." I reminded him, then showing the flashlight down into the small hole and taking in my deep breath.

I started my descend.

* * *

I reached the bottom, ducking slightly since Richie was crawling down right above me and I flashed my flashlight around. It was a cave, dark and cold with mist in the air and my nostrils. I had to duck my and almost crawl through now since the cave was narrow and small. Bill was in front of me, looking over to where Mike was walking towards. I walked over to Bill too, hearing Richie's boots hit the ground now.

"You guys good?" Mike asked from the front.

"Yeah," Bill said next to me. The both of us shined out lights, seeing Mike army crawl through a very slim but doable crack and opening.

"You can get through that?" I asked him now in curiosity and worry.

"It's the only way, this way. It's in here," Mike reassured us. I gave Bill a warning look as another pair of feet hitting the ground was heard, having me hear Beverly grunt as she landed.

"Go on," Bill said to me as I placed my hands in front of me and tried to crawl the same way Mike did, trying not to hit my head against the sharp-edged rocks and move my legs at the same time. Once I made it through, the others were not far behind.

"It's in here. It's tight but we can get though," Bill said to the others as I got up fully again and grabbed his arm to help him out. Once we both were out and able to walk, we followed Mike through a small tunnel-like a passage into what looked like a dome room. The room itself was massive, bigger than the area we were in before, up above us. The structure that we were aiming for was almost alien-like branches that were black and cold to the touch almost looked like fingers that were oozing from the ground and then were frozen before they could do anything else. I was amazed and terrified at the same time, the rest of the group right behind us

"So all of this has been under Derry since…forever?" Eddie asked in amazement with his headlamp looking everywhere.

"Not forever…just a few million years." Mike answered in reply as we were all following him. He was hearing right through the arms of the structure and into the middle where there was a solid surface. we all piled into the middle, watching as Mike placed his bag on the ground and unzipped it. He pulled out what looked like an ancient vase, year and years oddly with carvings all around the sides. Pictures, mostly, of apparently what we had to do.

"It can only be attacked as it's true form: The ritual'll show us that," Mike informed the group.

"What is its true form?" Ben asked.

"I hope it's a puppy….pomeranian….I'll shut up," Richie said as he saw all of us giving him a look.

"It's like…light that must be stuff up by darkness," Mike explained to us as he grabbed tighter fluid from the bag and pour a heavy amount into the top of the vase. Then, lighting a match, he created a small bonfire from within the vase and the flames flickered through the opening at the top. He stood up, looking at all of us.

"Your artifacts," he said, "Toss them into the fire. The past must burn with the present."

We all reached into our pockets, tasing out each one now as I held my old implant in my hands. Bill took a step forward, in his hands, a paper boat. it was perfectly made, aging was seen, with S.S. Georgie on the side written in black.

"This is the b-b-b-boat I build for….Georgie," Bill said in a solemn tone. He placed it carefully in the vase, Eddie clearing his own throat.

"It's my…umm… inhaler," He muttered, holding it in his hand, looking at us nervously as he took one more pull one more breath from the cap.

"Come on, dude," Richie grimaced, having me say noting now as Eddie placed it in the fire.

"Something I wished I would have held onto," Beverly said in her soft tone as she was holding what looked like a postcard. She looked at it fondly now, then grimacing a bit as she placed it in the fire. Ben had in his hand what looked like a piece of paper, folded with neatly folds that seemed like it was folded like that for years and years.

"This is a page out of my yearbook, and only one person signed," Ben said in a low tone, showing the blank page with only one name on the bottom corner with three hearts underneath the name, "I probably should have forgotten it, but I couldn't because I kept it in my wallet…for 27 years," Beverly looked at him in shock now, having me wonder if she knew something. but then I knew why since before he slipped it into the fire, I saw Beverly Marsh written in her handwriting. Richie shifted on his feet as he had a silver coin within his palm and stuttered a bit.

"A token from the Capitol Theater," Richie said in a grunt and fast pace, tossing the coin into the fire without a second thought. Eddie eyed him.

"You mean you brought it?" Eddie asked in surprise, in which Richie rolled his own eyes.

"Yeah that's what you have to do, asshole," Richie replied smoothly back to him.

"You have any idea on how long that's gonna take to burn?"

"Yeah but so is your inhaler, dude."

"Guys, come on," Ben roped them back into the moment. I then took my own steps forward, holding out my implant in my hand now as I was looking back it fondly. The light of the fire was dancing on top of the plastic as I found my voice.

"The first cochlear implant that I got after my surgery…something I thought was going to…define me," I explained to the group. Beverly placed a tender hand on my arm now as I moved my hand over slowly to let it drop into the flames. I breathed out a sigh of relief, letting go of a piece of my past now as Mike then held up what seemed to be a bloody rock within his fingers over the fire, looking directly at me now.

"Look closely, Molly. You see it?" He asked me, having me squint for a moment before it hit me, and I smiled fondly. It was a rush of a memory, something that I almost forgotten what made Mike come into our group: in which we turned our group from 7 to 8.

"Rock fight," I murmured back to him, seeing him then slowly lean it into the fire.

"Oh wait," Eddie said, reaching in his back pocket and pulling out Stanley's token: the shower cap from the clubhouse, "Couldn't forget about Stan…again."

With the last artifact in the fire, Mike cleared his throat.

"Okay…grab hands," He informed us, all fo us looking at each other hesitantly before we locked our hands together. I was holding hands with Richie and Beverly, the whole group looking to Mike now as he was watching the flames in the vase.

'The Ritual of Chud, it's a battle of wills. The first step is our reunion. The second is the gathering of tokens. This is the final step," Mike explained, having em deep breaths thinking that it'll help me with whatever will come next. But no one was expecting for the flames in the vase to go out. We were all frozen and confused.

"What the—" Richie said now as Mike was looking straight up at the tall ceiling. Slowly it was opening up like around, we were all shocked and amazed from seeing it get wider and wider now as the light was seeping it. It was almost memorizing, having me thinking like I was in some kind of trance. I clutched onto's Richie's hand tightly in a death grip as Mike shouted at us.

"Don't look at it, don't look at it," Mike warned us, having me shift my eyes down now as the others did the same, "Turn light into dark….turn light into dark…Say it! SAY IT!"

"Say what?" Eddie asked at first, his eyes hut and confused. I slammed my eyes shut too, thinking that it was safer as we were all saying it at different times. I was feeling some kind of pull, some kind of power was coming and pushing at us with wind wan light.

"Turn light into dark…..turn light into dark…." I said it over and over like a mantra now as the lights were getting lighter. Even with my eyes closed something was blasting us with light now as I was too afraid to even open my eyes a little now. All I could do was holding Richie's hand and Beverly's hand in hopes that it would be all over soon.

"TURN LIGHT INTO DARK…MIKEY WHAT'S GOING ON MAN?" Richie screamed next to me over the noise.

"KEEP SAYING IT!" Mikey commanded as we were all scramming it now. No one knew what was happening, or if we were in danger at all, but we were just screaming into the void as a pure white light was almost directly in the middle of our circle, slowly descending down and down now. The wind was rising and rushing from left and right, we were all trying to hold our ground now suddenly the light was gone and the sound was no longer there.

We were silent.

Mike was hunched over the vase with the top on it, sealing it shut as we were all breathing out a sigh of relief. I was still clutching the hands I was holding, not wanting to move now as we were all arching Mike with big eyes.

"Turn light into dark..turn like into dark….is it working? Did we do it?!" Eddie asked in a stammer now. I wanted to sigh, thinking that it was over since there was nothing else heard. But then it was glowing red, and we were all frozen and it was started to inflate. I moved back, releasing Beverly now as we were all seeing it and Mikey struggling to keep it closed. It sounded like a balloon.

A fucking red balloon.

"I guess this is part of it?" Beverly asked on the verge of a breakdown as Richie was looking with wide eyes.

"Mike, is this supposed to be happening?" I asked him in a weary tone as the balloon in the vase was inflating more and more, getting bigger and bigger to the point that Mikey couldn't force the top back on anymore.

"Come on, keep saying it!" Mike urged us, though half of us were frightened and the other half was beyond shocked. I didn't know what to do as Bill and Eddie were trying to keep the chant going. I was about ti as well when the ballon inflated some more and knocked Mike off his balance and we all stopped. It was growing rapidly, too fat for us to do anything else as it was pushing out and having me against the walls of the small platform.

"Move!" Richie said to me as he grabbed my arm and we slipped through one of the openings, the others doing the same as the balloon as growing so fast it was now the size of a house. The red from the ballon reflection in the large dome showing the size and how it was growing with nothing slowing it down. I was trying to get away as far as possible, thinking that something was going to hit us now as the next thing we heard, was a bang.

We all were slammed to the ground from the sound. I couldn't hear anything at all.


	13. You Lied To Us Again?!

My ears were ringing.At least, my good ear was ringing.

Everything was hazy, having me try and get my brain back in order.But I was on my back and I was blinking rapidly now at the ceiling.Things were spinning, and I felt vibrations underneath me from running around me.It made me snap into action now as I rolled onto my side and pushed myself up on my shaky arms and legs.Everyone else was trying to hear something as well.

I pushed into a run, feeling my legs come to now as I bolted over to Richie, who was sprawled out on his back and looking dead above at the ceiling like I did.I hunched over him, framing his head in my hands now as the others were trying to get their ears to work again.

_Look at me!Look at me, Richie!_I signed to him frantically, pushing his hair out of his eyes thinking that he was injured there on his head.He blinked rapidly now as he was locking his eyes on me and I smiled at him.Grabbing his hand, I hosted him up and we both swayed there, standing side by side now as I signed to him again: _Can you hear me?_

_No_. He signed, tapping his pointer and middle finger against his thumb now as I looked at the others.I could tell too they were suffering since the blast of the res balloon was far too loud for them, for all of us.Ben and Beverly were stumbling a bit, I grabbed Eddie's jacket to keep him on his own two feet.Finally, I moved over to Bill and I saw him clutching his ears now frantically since he felt like he was beyond deaf.I staggered over to him, waving my hands in front of him now to get his attention.

_You're okay.It's just a ring!_ I reminded him with my fingers, seeing him nod his head as we were all moving back together to regroup.Maybe we were bonded by it, the force knocking us out for a moment now, but we were all confused as to what happened and if we did stop It.But it looked like we didn't, almost going a step backward now as we were all blinking and figuring it out.

"What just happened?" I asked in a hoarse tone as I could tell they were getting their hearing again.

"Did we do it?Mike, did we do it?" Eddie was asking frantically now.

"Yeah, with the…thing.That's good, right?We did it, right?" Richie asked next to me as Beverly was trying to get her flashlight to work again.Once she got the beam to come out, Beverly pointed it up to the structure that we were in before, and we all screamed in shock.

The clown's face popped up from behind the shadows, behind the arms of the structure with its glowing eyes and sinister smile.We all jumped, shocked to finally see him since he was tormenting us this whole time with his tricks and tauntings.The others bounced back, staying together in a group as we watched the clown.Richie pulled me back against him, his chest to my back and his arm went over my chest to keep me close.I clutched his arm against my chest, needing to keep him close to me as we were looking at it with horror in our eyes and genuine fear. 

"Oh, did it work, Mikey?Did it work?" The clown mocked to Mike now as his eyes found him within our group.He laughed his menacing laugh, all of us frozen while he was looking his yellow eyes with Mike, "Tell them why you're silly ritual didn't work.Tell them it's all just….what's the word Eds?Gazebo?"

"Mike, what is he talking about?" Eddie asked in worry now from his spot near myself and Ben.I looked over at Mikey too, seeing that he knew something that we didn't, he was hiding something.I could see it on his face, the way he was standing and how he was frantically looking at both ourselves and the clown at the same time as he was caught.Oh….oh he was caught.

"Mike," I said to him boldly, seeing him look right at me now as I found my voice for the first time since the balloon explosion, "What did you do?"

"M-m-m-Mikey?" Bill called out, having me fidget within Richie's grasp as I was looking at Mike too dead in the eyes.I noticed it all: he was showing it without even saying a single word now as he was locked in one position and not moving an inch. 

"Oh, Mikey…you didn't show them the whole side did you?" He asked, another laugh escaping his lips, "You didn't want them to know what actually happened to the poor Shokopiwah…"We were all rigid now, realizing that Mike was bringing us down here for another person.It couldn't be, he was our friend and he wouldn't' do that to us.

"Mikey, you lied to us again?!" Bill asked in both anger and fear from the clown. 

"They….they didn't….they didn't believe they could kill It, that's why it didn't work back then!" Mike tried to explain to us with few Brin his eyes as Richie's hold on my shoulder tightened a bit in anger.

"YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME, MIKE!" Richie roared at him now as I was seeing the pure look of dread and agony on Mike's face now.He knew he was caught by us, and it broke my heart over and over.He was tried to explain himself to us, but I was now looking back in front of me, not wanting to look at him anymore as both Richie and Bill were swearing under their breaths.I then clutched's Richie's jacket tightly, the clown disappeared into the structure before two bright bulbs of bluish light soared up from the middle and into the air. 

"The deadlights!Don't look at them!" Beverly warned us and we all averted our lights from the flickering beams.Richie and I were taking a few steps back and trying to keep our footing, almost being knocked down from the sheer force of the beams as I heard his voice yet again.he sounded bigger…taller…and deadlier.

"27 years, I dreamt of you…I craved you…I miss you!" He said in a booming voice.We all saw him now appear out of the darkness of the structure, his bottom half now almost like a spider and crawling over us since hew as bigger and taller.We were all moving away from the creature it formed into staying together and not moving out of sight from one another.All but one person who wasn't moving or showing that he was going to move.

"Mike, come on Mike!" Bill and the others were trying to pull Mike back with us as we were backing away, but Mike was staying still, already in misery now as he was left alone there in the clearing and It was looking right down at him. 

"I'm sorry, guys.I'm so sorry," Mike sobbed as the clown raised his hand, having me see the clown's hand formed into a deadly spike there within its palm.I dodged out of Richie's hold and bolted over to Mike, not wanting to see him die.We were too concede about it, no matter what he held from us.He was still my friend, and he wasn't going to die.

"MOLLY!" Richie screamed, being held back by Ben and Beverly as I grabbed MIke's arm and tried to yank him.

"Mike, come with me! Come on!" I pleaded as The clown smiled brightly at both of us.His hand turned into a long hook of a dagger.The blood drained from my face as the others were shocked.

"Time to float!" He roared, I then threw my body weight on top fo Mike and shoved him hard with my sides and arms.We both fell tot he ground just in time for the knife-like weapon in the arm to hit the ground.The ground rattled and the group screamed, running over and getting both Mikey and ourselves back on our feet.Bill grabbed for me as Eddie and Ben grabbed for Mike. 

"Run!" We were all sprinting from the creature that was chasing us now with a sinister laugh in its booming voice.We were all frantic now, trying to get as far away as possible now as we were almost circling the structure right in the middle of the dome room.I was trying to run as fast I could, trying to avoid any of the objects and debris that were being flung around by the creature.Almost got hit by some concrete as I dodged it and both Bill and I were going over to an opening in the side of the wall.Eddie and Richie were off to one side, Mike dived underneath a covering to hide from the creature now as Ben and Beverly were going another way.

"Come on!" Bill said to me now as the clown was now chasing both of us.Bill pointed to the small opening, getting closer and closer.Once we were closer enough, both Bill and I jumped for it, realizing that it was water that we were going into and missing the clowns' razor-sharp teeth barely.

I was in the water again. 

* * *

I looked around, seeing nothing under the water but darkness before I could register what was going on.I heard nothing either, nothing moving around me or near me.Where was Bill?I was frantic for a second now before I could hear the small number of sounds above me where the light was.It was a bright light, making me swim upwards now and break my head through the surface of the water.

I wasn't at the cave anymore, nor were the others around me.I was outside, in the middle of the night and I was having to blink a few times and cough the water out of my nose and hair.Yea, I was outside and in the river near Derry.The same river where….

"Drunk Bastard," I heard behind me, swirling in the water and moving over to the edge of the river to get myself out of the river.My clothes were wet once more, my hair plastered to my face as I was seeing what looked like a turned over tuned vehicle halfway int he river.There were cops everywhere along with the damaged car, the wheels still turning slightly and the cops were talking to each other Brin hushed tones.I walked over, thinking that they weren't going to see me since it had to be another trick of the mind from It.

There was a cop car pulled away to the side with the backdoor propped open, someone already laying on her side and passed out cold with a fleece blanket around her shoulders and engulfing her body.I could see the long hair plastered to her face and her skin was pale and cold.I saw the shade of her hair in the moonlight there, having me think that I was looking at someone very familiar to me.

"When is the ambulance coming for her?" I looked over, hearing one of the cops talking to the others in a huddle as I saw the uneasiness on their faces.

"Within a few minutes.Poor kid, never saw it coming with that kind of a father," The other cop muttered.I then saw a third cop walk over now with his hands on his hips.He looked wet all over his face, but he changed into a new cop uniform and was drying his hair with a spare towel in his hands.I knew his face, I saw him plenty of times when I was a kid, either in his cop car or around town talking to the locals.

"Quit the gossip," He barked at the group fo men, huffing a bit now as he looked at each of them, "No need to bring the girl into this when her father did it."

"Did you call Wendy?" Another cop asked, having em cock my head at the mention of my mother's name.I walked forward a bit, seeing all of them look at the third cop now as he sighed and nodded his head.

"She's driving over right now.Damnit, Wendy's been through the wringer with him as a husband, and now She's paying for it," I knew he was mentioning the body that in the car that was out cold.I looked over at the cop, slowly walking over thinking that I was going to see something that was going to make me go through an out of body experience.It was getting scarier and scarier to go closer to the sop now as the officers were still talking.

"Never thought he would take it this far, let alone taking his kid with him in the suicide."

"He was too far gone to save anywho," there was a pregnant pause there as I was close enough to peer down at the small bundled there on the back seat of the car. 

"Good thing you got her out in time though, Captain Bowers," I cringed, margin a fist at my side now as I then knew what this night was.It was reliving it now, full-on pithing being involved.Another trick fo the mind and now I was suddenly feeling out of place and out of sorts.Everything was cold, beyond cold now as I was hearing a voice in my head now, preying at my brain and trying to make me weak.

**"So sad your father saw you as meaningless as his own life…wanted you to end with him as well…You know it's true: you have no worth."**

I shook my head at my thoughts, trying not to let it grow in my brain now as I knew it was the clown.He was trying to make me fall int peace within my head now as I was seeing the night that changed everything.Even the scenery felt off, things felt out of place, and yet I was too young to remember all of it.Why was this happening?Was this was last straw for the clown to get us all broken down and die?

**"You should have died with him: let your friends move on with their lives without you and your failing ears.They don't need you, they never did."**I was cringing, going through that felt like a sensory overload within my head now as the voice was getting louder and louder.I tried to remind myself that it wasn't true: my friends did need me. Clown's voice and laughter were getting louder and louder now as I was covering both ears and almost crouching to the floor.

_Make it stop….make it stop…._

"Molly….Molly get up," I heard a new voice and the sound of the clown was wiped away from my ears and brain.Once again it was quiet, and the gentle sound of a male voice that sounded familiar.Do I know that voice?

"Go back to the others, they need you," I looked around, knowing that voice and yet never heading it before.It was a warm tone of voice, not cold and sinister like the clown but soothing and kind.I finally looked over my shoulder, seeing one other person there amongst the policemen.But he wasn't seen by them, like me, he was invisible to the cops who were still talking to each other.He was tall,taller than me and had soft brown curly hair that was pushed to the side to show his smooth and yet calming face.He was watching me with a tilt of his head, his hands were at his sides now with a small smile on his face.Wait…I know that face and smile.

"Stanley?"I asked in a shutter, seeing him smile at.It felt real seeing him in front of me, with no one else watching or noticing him.He and I were alone within my own tormented mind thanks to the clown.Maybe this was another trick: somehow the clown knew I was severely affected by the suicide of Stanley because it caused the act.But none the less: I wanted to smile so wide.But I stayed still.Noticing the blood along his wrists and how they were still fresh and trickling down onto the concrete floor.This had to be a trick.

"It's too late for me," He said, his voice was low and yet soothing at the same time, making me watch him with interest as the cop lights were reflecting off of him as well as the moonlight.It was a beautiful sight to see, he was beyond beautiful.My heart ached for him, "But you can go back and save the others from it."

**"You're not loved by them!Why go back!" **The clowns' voice was back and trying harder to tap into my brain and get me to snap.But seeing this image or mirage of Stanley in front of me was making ti easier to not listen. 

"I miss you," I simply whispered to Stanley, needing this image to just know that I miss him beyond words.it was breaking my heart, not from the crowd but it could be, but seem seeing Stanley there and what he would have looked like growing up.He should have been here, fighting this thing with us, but the clown took him awake.

"I do too," He replied, his voice staying constant and unwavering, "But we'll see each other again soon.Trust me, you need to go back and keep the others safe."

**"YOU'RE NOTHING WITHOUT THEM…NOTHING!" T**he voice from the clown was now roaring in anger now as it could tell I wasn't going to crumble easily like it though I would.I looked back over to the cop car I was standing in front us, walking over to the front and reaching into the car.If I knew a thing or two about cop car, I knew they had another gun or weapon in here in case they needed it.There it was, another gun there for me to wrap my fingers around. 

But then were was movement there in the backseat where the blanket wrapped around the body was.I slowly walked over, gun ready and aimed in my hand as I reached over with trembling fingers to see what it was.I was soothed, maybe from the few seconds that I had with the ghost of Stanley.If it was the clown that did it, which would make no sense, then I would have tot hank the clown itself since it didn't make me afraid, but it made me feel stronger.

I threw the top of the blanket off, seeing nothing more than the face of the clown there looking up at me.He looked up at me with his wide yellow eyes and chuckled his sinister laugh.I didn't move now when he spoke.

"You think you can win over me, you and all the other Losers.I know you all too well…you're gonna crumble into pieces and the others won't pick you back up," He said to me in his cold tone and manner. I watched him, not having fear but having a sense of bravery soar through me. I cocked my gun, aiming it at his head and seeing the clowns face wipe off from its mouth.

"You don't know shit, asshole," I replied bitterly, shooting the gun at least once and then, once again, everything around me going black.Everything was gone from around me, I was alone and in blackness.It was like I hit a switch, seeing the ghost of Stanley, witnessing the night changed everything in my life, and now I was back in the water.

I was swimming around, trying to find a way out for a few moments.But then, right above me, there was a small opening in the surface.It was blue and flickering, maybe it was taking me back to the cave once more as I was swimming towards it and trying t hold my breath for a little while longer.But a hand-stretched into the water towards me, beckoning me to take it.I grasped it, the hand hoisting me up and I breathed out in the air of the cave.

Bill pulled me to safety.


	14. What's Up Buddy?

"You o-o-o-o-okay?" Bill asked me over the noise in the cave. I nodded, coughing up some of the water now as Bill was trying to hoist me up from the edge of the water back on solid ground. I blinked away the water from my eyes as I saw we were back in the dome room, the others were gone and I couldn't find them from where I saw. Bill hoisted me up and got me back onto my feet, the both of us staggering back into the main room as we saw the It creature again. But this time, it was watching Mike now as Mike was once again standing in front of him and squaring him off in his stance and his look.

"I know what you are," Mike told him, "That why I'm not afraid of you."

It rolled out like an octopus-like limb and wrapped it around Mike, the end right under his chin as a claw came out and was barely touching Mike. Both Bill and I fell back from the impact and were pressed against the ground together, watching in horror as It sneered at Mike.

"I know what you are…..a mad man." It sneered at Mike, opening his mouth wide and showing all of its teeth. It was about to reach down and bite Mike, in which I cringed next to Bill, when large price fo rock slammed into it head, having it blink a few times in frustration now as I looked over to see where it came from. it was Richie, having em almost jump up in fear.

"Hey, fuckface!" He called out, the creature unrolling his limb on Mike and Mike falling to the floor in a huff and landing on his injured arm. I was about to get up, both to see if Mike was okay and to get to Richie since it felt like he was in danger. But that's when Bill grabbed my arm in case I was going to be the next target.

"Wanna play Truth or Dare? Here's the truth: You're a sloppy bitch! Yeah, that's right! Let's dance, Yippie Kayeh Mother—" but he was silenced by a blinding light that was showing right on him. His arms went slack, but he was on some kind of hold and hovering barely over the ground with his feet dangling. There was a blank zombie look on his face as he was caught in the pure deadlight of It.

"RICHIE!" I screamed, scrambling to get up and try to get to him, but Bill wrapped his arm around my waist and held me back. I struggled, trying to break free from Bill and go over to Richie, thinking that at any moment It was going to swallow him whole or kill him off within a split second. its mouth was getting wider and wider, the pure light within its mouth was getting brighter by the second.

"Don't! Molly no!" Bill tried to get me to stay with him and not get hurt, but I was too focused on Richie. All I could do was watch in horror as Richie was slowly rising in the air and was still caught in the deadlights and there was nothing that could pull him out at this point. I had to do something, but I had no idea what I could do. I was clinging onto Bill now in agony, and now at any minute, he could die.

Something soared through the air, cutting clean and aiming at the mouth of It. It pierced his mouth, the deadlights blinking away and It crying out and having a spasm. Richie fell from hovering in the sky, hitting the ground hard on his back and I looked at It slowly almost dissolving into the structure again, crumbling into the formation and almost being swallowed whole. I moved my eyes from it over to where Richie was, seeing that it was Eddie. He was standing there in front of an unconscious Richie with his hands as a fist at his sides.

"Holy shit!'" Eddie said in a gasp now as he then rushed over to hunch over Richie to see if he was alive. I was relieved that Eddie did save him, and I was slowing down in my determination to get to Richie, Eddie taking care of him at the moment and making sure he was okay. Ben and Beverly appeared from another hole in the wall fo the dome, both of them looked dirty and exhausted. Beverly looked like she was covered head to toe in blood.

"Hey Rich, wake up! There he is, hey buddy! Hey, Richie, listen, I think I got it man! I think I killed it, I did! I killed it!" Eddie was explaining to Richie, who woke up finally from his episode. I thought for a brief moment that it was all over and all was well, that Eddie did, kill it.

It all slowed to a stop when the piercing sound of flesh ripping rang through the air. The claw rammed through Eddie through the chest and he froze.

"EDDIE!" I screamed in agony now as I was seeing Eddie being pierced and blood coming down in front of my eyes, in front of Richie and the others now as Beverly screamed next to Ben not too far away. I was frozen not realizing that this was happening and that this was all some kind of sick joke. but Eddie was pierced, wounded so badly that all Bill and I could do from our spots was watch in horror as the creature lifted Eddie in the air while he was still pierced through in the chest, waving him around like a banner. I screamed out in pain now, seeing my friend thrown to the side and rolled out fo sight to where we came out of the smaller cave into the dome.

"YOU MOTHER FUCKER!" I roared in anger now as both Bill and I were now on our feet and running over to where Eddie was thrown. Mike, Richie, Ben, and Beverly ran with us, avoiding the creature who was once again trying to get a hold of us and kill us too. We dove in just in time and crawled into the small to find Eddie's body. I was frantically looking, seeing Richie got their first and I fell to my knees next to him and looked at the severely injured Eddie.

He had blood in his mouth, coming down onto his chin and scrapes all over his body. I slowly looked to his chest, right in the middle was a large wound that was bloody and mangled. I gasped in pain as the others did too, the banging of the creature hitting the top of the cave we were in and tuning us now with its yellow eyes.

"COME OUT AND PLAY, LOSERS!" He bellowed, she voice shaking out small cave as Richie threw off his jacket and placed it over the wound in Eddie's chest in hope that it would help. I crouched over Eddie, holding his face in my hands to have him look at me in the eyes. He was trying o breathe, I could tell me was and he was slowly slipping.

No, not Eddie…not my Eddie.

The others were trying to holdout together too, trying to think on how we could save him after all, but nothing was coming to mind. It was frightening me.

"Take it easy, Eddie. We got you now." I reassured him, seeing him trying to breathe but it was almost impossible now aa I was searching for his wounds to find a way to help him. It was too far gone for him, it felt, and I didn't want to believe it now as Richie took

"He's hurt bad. We have to get him out of here, you guys," Richie said to the others now as Eddie was still gasping for air. Richie was desperate, as was I, to get him safe and away from here. But from how his wound looked, moving him would be fatal for Eddie

"How are we going to do that, Richie?" Beverly asked as Ben finally moved out of the way and over to the back of our area to find a way out. I maneuvered myself next to Eddie, pushing him up slightly and having him lean back against my chest to give him some kind of relief now as he was still struggling. I heard him speak up then, a small sound from his blood-soaked lips as he was watching both Richie and myself.

"I almost killed It. The library…..I felt him shaking…I made him small," Eddie explained, the rest of us hanging on his every word as the creature was thrashing some more. I cringed a bit, covering myself and Eddie's head in case rocks were going to fall.

"He seems weak…He seems so weak…." Eddie explained some more, sounding so sure with the notion that the creature was weak. Then Mike, looking like he discovered something within his mind, spoke up with boldness.

"The Shokopiwah. All living things must abide by the laws they inhabit!" Mike explained to all of us, a small lightbulb was going off in all of our brains now as Ben spoke up from behind us.

"Guys! There's a passageway, through here." He deplaned, poking his head out of a small tunnel. Beverly's eyes now light up.

"The tunnel! Pennywise has to make himself small to get through the entrance of the cavern right? Okay, so, If we can get back there, we can force him down to size! We make him small, small enough so we can kill him!" Beverly was right, sounding so sure and yet uneasy at the same time as I knew it had to be done. It sounded right to me, it had to be right and it had to be the one last way we could end the whole nightmare. The area shook again, all of us looking over as the clown as still trying to close its way in and glaring at us.

"I can smell the stench of your fear!" He snickered at us, having me point with my bloody hand that was holding Richie's jacket to Eddie' wound to the tunnel.

"Come on, let's go!" I said to him, Bill and Richie grabbed Eddie side by side and Richie helping me up with his spare hand. I moved out of the way, seeing Bill and Richie carrying Eddie behind me as I followed the others through the small passageway that lead around the side of the dome, where the creature was still at our original spot. We created along the side, the clown not seeing us as both Bill and Richie hoisted Eddie back down against the wall and out of danger. I was sandwiched between Ben and Mike, waiting to see what we were going to do and where we were going to go from here.

"Richie…I need to tell you something…." Eddie said in a murmur, his energy was slipping by the second and Ben and I couched down next to Richie, seeing Richie hanging on his word.

"Yeah, what's up buddy?" Richie asked quickly. There was a long pregnant pause, Eddie looking like hew as mustering up the last of his energy and strength to just speak out to Richie. It looked a few long moments before he could talk.

"I…I fucked your mom," Eddie replied shortly, cackling to his joke for a moment before he was coughing again. Richie looked solemn, not smiling at the joke now as I looked at the others and I saw them ready to break into a run over to the caverns, our entrance to this place. Richie was going to stay with Eddie, I could feel it as I squeezed his shoulder gently as I heard the others running now to the spot they needed to go. I stayed behind, not wanting to leave Eddie and Richie alone now as they were had to handle the creature.

"Molly," I looked back at Eddie, seeing him watch me with a glazed look at his eyes and on his cheeks. I was cringing, feeling as though he was on his last limb now. Richie was holding his aside carefully against the slope we had him on as I leaned down to frame his face gently in my head and card my fingers in his dirty and wet hair.

"You need to…." He paused, trying to get some more strength now as I shook my head.

"It's alright, Eddie. You need to rest now," I reassured him, trying to calm him as he was still going to try and say something to me. One of his hands, shaking and getting colder by the minute, was now touching my hand on his face.

"Protect them," He said, having me look at him in shock as he said it once more, "Promise me….protect them…please Molly."

"Eddie, come on, Buddy. Don't talk right now. Molly's right, you need to rest," Richie tried to reason with him, having me look over at Richie briefly and see that he was on the verge of breaking down. My heart was heavy, beyond heavy with what I was seeing and I wanted to sob. I wanted to protect Eddie, I felt as though I failed in helping him stay alive. But Eddie's eyes stayed on me, waiting for me to say something back to him or to acknowledge him. I felt too much, but I slowly moved both of my hands up. My left hand made a fist, my right pointer finger touched my lips before I pushed my right palm against my fist.

_I Promise._

"You're just a clown!" Both Richie and I looked, seeing the four of our friends squaring off with the creature. It froze, not realizing that Mike was going rally against him, or even stand still and not be afraid. No, the clown was frozen in its spot: as if it was shocked the Mike would say something like that to it. The others were catching onto it too, using their bold voiceband bravery.

"You're a mimic!"

"You're nothing but a bully!"

"You're just a clown!"

I felt the sense of bravery coming over me too: seeing the others being just as brave. We had to make it small, and maybe just talking down to it like it did to us was enough to make it weaker and then we could defeat it once and for all. There was no sense of fear, no sense of defeat in any of us since we now knew the trick, thanks to Eddie and what he experienced. Now it was up to us to make sure that we could make it seem so weak and small, even if it was just with our words.

"You're nothing but a bully, a huge bully!" I saw Richie getting up now and joining the others as the creature looked as if it was slowly sinking smaller and smaller until it was seeping into the structure as it did before with Eddie. All five of them left Eddie and I now, crowding the now tiny creature and having em feel a sigh of relief that they were taking care of the creature.

I looked back at Eddie, seeing his eyes slowly closing and taking a few more deep breaths now as I tapped his face gently with my fingers.

"Eddie….come on Eddie," I urged him gently as I was now crying, already feeling as though I was losing him there to his wounds. He slowly looked up at me one more time, his smile was still there barely for me, and since it was the both of us now, having our small little moment as I felt like I was living a nightmare. It was slowly coming over me, nothing that I could do could fix this and make it all better.

"Love you…Molly," He whispered hoarsely to me, his soothing was so quiet that I thought I couldn't heart him. My tears were hitting his jeans and jacket, having me cringe knowing that was how he was saying goodbye, I looked down, taking in my deep brief before I looked back at him and gave him a sweet smile. Leaning over, I planted a kiss, barely on his lips there but enough for him to feel it.

"I love you too, Eddie," I replied almost in a choked sob. I heard some noise coming from the structure and the others, having me look over my shoulder now for a brief moment and then back at Eddie. But I was frozen.

Eddie was Dead.


	15. It's Not Broken?

Something was making my feet move towards the others.I didn't know if it was my brain or my heart, but I was walking with a steady pace, my head feeling beyond heavy and fizzy, and my own heart getting lower and lower to my shoes and beyond so into the ground.Witnessing death wasn't new, I've seen plenty of death on and off the streets.

But this was different.This was a burden.

I made it to the structure, finally feeing what the others were doing.The clown was shrinking but still out of it now as they were all peering down at what looked like a shriveled being the size of my shoe.The clown's face was still there, etched against the surface of the structure, but the rest of his body was small and weak and wrinkling like a raisin as they were all peering down at it now with no fear, but with vengeance. 

I walked over to stand with Richie, looking at the creature as he looked at me briefly.I knew he wanted to say something to me, but I was silent and tears were coming down my face now as Mike was slowly reaching with his steady hand towards the clown and its' shriveled form.When it was close enough, the clown trying to scream out at him with its' large teeth, but he was too weak and he sunk back down and looked at Mike.

The clown had the fear now.

Mike reached into its chest, the clown crying out helplessly as we watched Mike carefully and slowly pull out the heart that was beating rapidly.I watched it hold it all in one hand, then I reached out to place my hand over the top without hesitation.We had to crush it, I knew it since he gave me that look.The others, one by one, place their hands on the rapidly beating heart that was going faster and faster, mirroring that fear that the clown was showing against the grown at our feet.

"Look at you.You're all…grown-up." He said weakly at us with his wide eyes and a sad look on his mouth.I gave a small look over to Bill, watching him look at the clown with a menacing look now as we then started to squeeze.The rest of us squeezed the heart, the juicing sensation through our fingers was heard as the clown gasped out one last time.He breathed out one final breath, the two dead light bulbs that were rotating high above us were slowly sinking down and then bringing darkness. 

The clown was finally dead.

I saw how the clown finally looked like it was part of the wealth, morphing into darkness and then crumbling down.Its' pieces were now floating up in the air slowly, the part of the heart in our joined hands was floating up too.The last deadlight was now dying and it disappeared, leaving an eery green tint in the room from being underground.We all watched each other, thinking that if we waited a moment or two, something else would happen.But there wasn't a jump scare or another round of deception.It was real.

We won. 

I dropped my hand in heaviness.Bill and Mike touched foreheads in relief and embraced.Beverly rested her forehead against Richie's shoulder now as Richie was just standing there and blinking.We all were taking it in for a moment or so, my whole body was aching and in pain as Richie finally snapped back to reality.

"Eddie…Eddie," he said in concern, moving away from us and walking briskly back to Eddie's spot.The others went too, but I stayed behind.They didn't know, they didn't see it.But I did, and I wasn't going to want to seat again now as I was standing there in the middle looking at the ground at my feet.

"Molly?" I heard behind me, having me shake my head slowly now as I knew that voice. 

"Eddie?" Richie asked for far away, not realizing what was going on.There was nothing else heard from them now as I felt a warm hand on my shoulder.It made me crumble now, at first from the inside right where my heart was and then it blossomed out onto my whole body.

"I couldn't….I couldn't save him." I gasped out in hallow whispers.Two hands were on my shoulders now, as if they were trying to ground me and bring back.But I fell to my knees, coving my mouth in my hands and sobbing quietly.The others knew by now, I could tell they knew as the person behind me knelt next to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. 

"No, he's fine, we gotta get him out of here.I need help, Ben?" Richie asked frantically as I was trying to breathe through my tears and I was being led to lean against another body.It was firm and strong, yet gentle at the same time. 

"It's not your fault," Ben whispered in my hair over and over, his voice was breaking as well but I wasn't listening to him as he was trying to get it engraved in my brain, "It's not your fault."

"We need to help him, Beverly," Richie said now in a worried manner.I cringed, my tears hitting Ben's soiled shirt.It felt like I didn't do Richie justice in protecting Eddie, that at any moment Richie was going to snap my neck for him keeping Eddie safe.It was the guilt that was sinking in and making me not think to go anything else. 

"Richie," Beverly said softly, her voice was beyond fragile.

"What?" Richie asked back shortly.

"Honey, he's dead."It was the nail to end it all, having me cringed once more and feel Ben try to place me back on my feet and keep his arm around me.I knew he was trying to show me that I was still alive, but Eddie wasn't.He wasn't here and I wanted him to see.

"We gotta go, Richie," Bill said to him now as Ben looked behind the both of us.I slowly did the same, Ben still having his protective arm around me now as we both watched the others trying to pry Richie away from Eddie's body.I tapped Ben's shoulder, seeing him look down at me now with worried eyes thinking that I wasn't going to make it without him.His heart was far too big for things like this, and this was one of those times where I was beyond glad to have Ben in my life.

_Go_. I signed to him, seeing him reluctantly rebased his embrace on my and walk over briskly to help Bill hoisted Richie away from Eddie's body.I was frozen for a moment, hearing things starting to fall apart around us in the dome room.Since the clown was dead, it felt like everything else was caving in and being destroyed because of that death.I almost wanted to stay, to stay behind with Eddie and let this whole place consume me to end this pain that I had.

"Molly," I opened my eyes, blurry and stinging now as I saw Bill walk over to stand in front of me.

"I didn't save him, Bill," I simply replied monotoned, watching him as both Mike and Ben were pulling Richie away and they were making their way to the cavern again.Bill took my hand in his, having me see the heartbroken look on his face as he too was grieving for his friend. 

“C-c-c-come on, Molly.Don't leave us now, please.We n-n-n-n-need you," he urged me, tugging me with his hand now.Once again, my feet were taking me within me realizing it.I was now running with the others and tiny got avoid anything falling on me.The done room was colliding and folding into itself, my brain was now in fight or flight mode and we were finding the small tunnel to climb back up. I was just trying to get out, hearing more and more noise and chaos around us as it was getting worse and worse when we reached the top of the tunnel and back into the sewers.

It was getting violent, Bill hoisting me by my arm up and I moved out of the way to grab Richie by his hand to hoist him up.Both Richie and I were just trying to move with the others, traumatized from what we went through and how we handled it.I was trying to stay with the others, no longer grieving but going into autopilot.The debris was falling more and more out of the top of the sewers as we were pushing our way through the small amount of water and then into the tunnels, breaking into a run as the noise was getting louder and louder. 

Somehow throughout the whole escape plan, I felt Richie grasp my hand and keep me close to him though he was still heavy in the feet and hesitant.I had to stay with him, getting back into the house from the well and feeling the house crumbling underneath and around us now as we were close and closer to the entrance of the house and on the ground level.The dust and wood of the house were splitting around us having em duck and move from getting hit and slammed before we saw the light outside. 

I pulled Richie out of the house, the others with us too as we ran down the dirt path.The house was caving in behind us, the noise was thunderous and roaring.All of us now back on the street and seeing the those folding into itself now.I was standing alone, breathing the natural air of the sky and fallen debris from the house as both Ben and Mike were trying to hold Richie back from reaching out to Eddie.

"Eddie!EDDIE!" Richie cried out as we all watched the house being leveled to the ground.It was like all of our nightmares were all gone, not even in existence.What we went through as children, the first rounds of dealing with the clown and the others going into the sewers to save both Beverly and myself.It was all gone, no more fear of death, others being lost to the clown, and all of thespian the clown brought to us. 

Nothing left was there. 

* * *

The water was cool against my skin.

I jumped in right after Beverly.I took my shoes off just like the others did, tearing off the denim jacket I was wearing and having my sun touching my damaged and dirt skin as of I took in a shaky breath.I knew I looked horrid; the tear streaks on my face and the blood all over my hands and face now.It was caked one me, and I wondered if the water was enough to drain it off of my skin and make me clean again.

What about my guilt?

The jump wasn't as bad as it was before when I jumped in for the first time when we were kids.This time, it felt like an escape from pain then bravery, my eyes closing as soon as I was air born and my arms weren't out and stretched like wings. Even with this jump, I still felt like I could sink to the bottom from my heavy heart and heavy head.We were swimming together, just as we did years ago, and we were going to the one spot that was big enough for us to swim around and play in. 

We were all quiet, getting ourselves clean and renewed again.I was scrubbing carefully, trying to avoid the wound off my head and shoulder as I was looking ahead with an added look on my face, I knew the others were rethinking it all too now as Ben was finally speaking to us softly and in a hoarse tone.

"You know, I don't Eddie would like this, guys," Ben advised us, my eyes were slowly closing and my breath was shallow again from the mention fo our dead friend.

"What, cleaning ourselves with dirty water?" Bill asked, having me cringe inward now as I was hearing Beverly say something in almost a humorous tone.Mike said something back now as I was hiding my face in my hands.I was feeling so much pain, beating myself up over and over again in how I sold have done something anything to help Eddie at least stay alive a little while longer.It was digging fiercely into my chest and stabbing my repeatedly, the one last dig from the clown that it knew I had to face.

"You okay, Richie?" I heard Bill ask.I sniffed, chairing a broken son from Richie.It made me stop crying, slowly looking up ahead of me from hearing Richie in pain.Richie was close to Eddie, they both were close.They were something there between both of them that I didn't understand, nor did the others.But hearing him sob, the one heartbreaking thing that would bring me to my knees at any moment, already made me sober up from my own feelings.

_Richie needs you…..he needs you_

"Hey," Beverly called out to him, having me hear some movement in the water now as I was looking away from them at the edge of the water.I was too busy thinking of myself that I forgot about Richie and how he too was deeply affected by this.I could still hear him crying, my own hands going over my eyes and trying to stop myself from feeling this on my own.Richie was in pain, and there was still a small piece of me calling out to take care of him.

_Turn around and go to him._

I moved around suddenly, looking at the scene in front of me about 6 feet away.The group was huddled around Richie, who was sobbing how into his shoulder without his glasses on and was weeping out in the open.Beverly was on his arm, her head bowed against the arm, Ben was attache to Beverly and looking solemn, Bill was on Richie's other side looking to the side with sadness, and Mike was standing behind Richie with his head on Richie's shoulder.They were mourning together, helping Richie know that he wasn't the only one.I had to get to Richie, a pull in my gut was telling me so as Richie was sniffling and opening his eyes briefly/

"M-M-Molly?" he asked as if he was Bill with a stutter on his lips.The way he said my name was wet in need and sadness, in which I shoved my way through the water.Bill and Beverly moved away slightly, Bill releasing his hold on Richie's arm now as I was now in front of Richie and wrapping my arms around his shoulder to pull him close. 

Richie immediately was molding himself into my hold, his head on my chest and was openly weeping against me as I pressed my forehead against his hair.My fingers were against his wet shirt as Bill pressed an arm around me and Beverly had her hand on my other arm.Ben had his head against my back as Mike went back to Richie’s side.We were back in a huddle again, but I was more focused on Richie in my arms. 

If I was still going to beat myself up for what I should have done for Eddie, I could still help Richie and let him know that he wasn't alone in this.I could feel him attempt to take breaths as I was carding my fingers through his hair to try and calm him down.I did this once or twice when we were younger.When he had a fit or was having a rough moment.Maybe his mother did this, or maybe it was only me, but it worked for him every time.

He finally sniffled instead of sobbed, taking in a small breath now as I moved my head out of the way for him to look up at me.I looked down, his arms were around my waist and not letting me go now as I gave him a weak smile and he smiled softly back.He then looked at the others too, my hands moving from his head now to his shoulders as he sniffed one more time.

"I don't have my glasses on so I don't know who you people are but thank you,"He answered hoarsely, making our whole group chuckle from how he was making it aslightly joke.I grinned too, staying still as he coughed, "Seriously, I can't find my glasses."

"Really?" The others were now looking around in the water now as I was about to move when Richie's hold was tightened on me.I looked back to him, seeing him look up at me now with a wonderment in his eyes as I kept my stare at him.The others were away from us looking for his glasses, and now it was just the two of us.With one arm still around me almost protectively, he pointed to my cochlear now.

"It's not broken?" He asked me, having me give him a small smile.Of course, he would think of my implant at a time like this, from all that we went through in the past twenty-four horse and then some.I pointed to my implant now with a pale finger.

"Waterproof," I replied and signed with one hand, the front of me being exposed to all the water that was thrown at me.Richie grinned, blinking a few times in a sleep manner as he then rested his head against my chest again.I held him loosely this time, both of us no longer crying and just drinking all that was going on.

"He's gone," Richie muffled into my shirt.

"I know," I replied into his hair.We both were feeling it and we were acknowledging it at the same time.I could see his face still in my head and how fresh the wound was, beyond fresh.All I was trying to do at the moment was the focus on being there not only for the others but for Richie.

"I so sorry," I whispered, not caring if Richie was going to hear me or not.But his hold on my was tightening now once again as I was silently mourning into his embrace.There were no more tears, but I was still devastated and in pain. 

"Don't leave me, Molly," He mumbled into my chest.My heart was shifting in my chest, remembering all fo those times where I was there for him when he needed it.The times he would spend over at my house in my bed hen he needed an escape, the talks we would have together away from the other Losers.He was afraid to be alone, beyond afraid that no one was going to be around me for that much longer.First Stanley, and now Eddie.Was he afraid that I was going to be next?

"I promise, Richie Tozier.I'm not going anywhere."


	16. It's Over Then, Isn't It?

We walked together in silence.

Once again, the town was deserted, not a soul in sight.Our walk was slow, just taking out time now instead of being on a time crunch.After we had some time to dry off from the water and get our heads clear from our recent events, we decided to head back to the townhouse and at least get into some new clothes and a fresh shower.I was beyond exhausted, and with Richie finding his glasses finally at the bottom of the quarry, I was glad we were going back and resetting.

Of course, the first thing that I noticed was Ben and Beverly walking together closer than usual, their hands brushing each other's hands every once in a while and on the verge of holding together between them. I wanted to smile, but I was too tired, way too tired and still wrung out from the top of my head to my toes. 

The sun was getting us dry by the minute as we were walking up the main street in downtown Derry, I was walking alongside Mike and Bill with myself in the middle.I was once again going through the memories of being here in town, but they weren't bad memories.They were the good ones, getting ice cream after school, riding the bikes at dusk to get the last glimpse of the sunset, and running as fast as we could to get out of the rain.It made me wish that I remembered those times sooner. 

"Hey guys," We all stopped in our tracks on the sidewalk, looking behind us and seeing Beverly and Ben standing together and Beverly looking down at her palm, "Look,"

I didn't know what she was saying or what she was doing, but then I saw Bill next to me doing the same thing with his own palm.I reluctantly looked down at my palm, already thinking that I was going to see the long thick scar from the oath that we took.But my eyes went big, there was nothing there.

Nothing but smooth skin.

"It's over then, isn't it?" I asked the others, seeing them look at their own hands and all of us thinking the same thing,It was the last thing we needed to see and experience: the scars that signified our oath to come back and end It.Now was we fulfilled that oath, even with two fewer members of our Loser's Club, there was a need for the reminder. 

"I think so," Bill said to me, but to the others as well.We were all having a small sense of relief now as I looked from Bill over to Richie.He was still quiet, though his face was less sad and more solemn now.We both locked eyes for a moment now as he then reached out with his scar-less hand and I took it without hesitance.We locked our fingers, making me feel like we were born holding hands together as if it was destiny.

I looked over, along with the others, seeing a massive glass display window at the shop on our left side.We were all silent, almost as if as we were seeing the same thing.Were we seeing the same thing?I could see an image of us, as children, wit hour bikes staring right back at our adult selves.It was an out of body feeling, seeing my younger self and how I looked that summer.

It must have been when we were done defeating It the first time…back at Neibolt House.

We were all so young there in the window, holding our bikes within our hands and looking grimy and dirty from our first battle as kids.I could see all of these faces, the face of my life long friends who I knew I would protect wholeheartedly.But two faces were there and were having me smile n sadness.One of them was, of course, Eddie, his cast stained from the sewers and the look of innocence on his face.The other face, the one face that I was missing all this time, was Stanley. 

Now they were both gone.

I didn't know how long we were standing there watching the window, but we finally blinked back to the present time as I was now taking in a final breath before I locked eyes with Richie.We both were quiet for a moment now as I could tell he too was tired. 

"You okay?" I asked him, seeing him blink a few more times to maybe readjust his memory before he inhaled sharply and nodded his head.

"Yeah, I think so," He answered, having me smile at him as I then looked at his hair.He saw where my eyes were going, his eyes were going up too and his eyebrows were raised too.

_What?_he signed to me with his spare hand since the other was still holding my hand between both of us.The others were still walking ahead of us, maybe giving us space and time together alone. 

"You need a haircut."

* * *

Richie was sitting in a chair against my bed, his hair clean from a shower and I was sitting behind him on the bed itself with my legs tucked underneath me and a pair of scissors in my hand.We all took a shower once we got back to the townhouse, needing to get everything oof of our skin and back to normal as much as possible.He had a towel over his shoulders and his hands in his lap with his leg tapping repeatedly in anxiety. 

"You okay?" I asked him, placing a hand on his shoulder as he nodded his head at a fast rate.

"Yeah yeah, you know, having your childhood best friend sit behind you with scissors in her hand, my anxiety's great," He mumbled now in a stammer as I chuckled.

"Beep beep, Richie," I reminded him, getting some of my fingers in his hair now and seeing how long his hair was, "I've done this before you know, especially with you.Don’t you remember those times in my kitchen, especially the one time you got gum in your hair from your prank with Eddie going horribly wrong.“

"Oh sure," He replied calmly as I got the proper length that I wanted to work on with him.I finally took in my own shaky breath as I got to work. leveling out the length of hair within my fingers and cutting off some locks here and there.It's been a bit since I was cutting hair in the kitchen of my old home, Richie sitting in the kitchen chair with a table cloth around his shoulders and I was almost cutting his ear off.But this time as grin adults, ti felt a bit better.

"So…you've gotten better at cutting hair," Richie comment as I took a good amount off near his ear on the left side.

"I've watched videos," I replied smoothly, getting some of his hair in my fingers to see the length before I was cutting the hair again, "Plus I experimented on some of my co-workers to get it done right."

"Perfect, as long as you make sure my good side if perfect I'm not gonna bitch about it," Richie joked, having me giggle.We were comfortable there with just the both of us, Richie sitting into e chair and I was fiddling with his hair to get it shorter and looking cleaner.I liked it this way since there was nothing else hindering or making us scared.It was almost domestic…which was a bit scary.There was music playing on the radio that was playing in my room, having me hear that it was "Africa" by Toto.

I got the last piece of hair off and I looked at my handy work, seeing that it all looked even enough.His hair was now immensely shorter, looking cleaner and more mature than what he had before.Sure it wasn't looking like his typical image that we were used to when we're younger, but I liked how it looked on him. 

I placed the scissors on the bed, taking off the cloth around Richie's shoulders, but then he caught my hand there on his shoulder.I froze, not knowing what to do or what to say as Richie finally spoke between the both of us.

"I saw what happened to you back there," He softly said to me, no longer joking like he did moments before, "Back when you were with Eddie."

"Richie," I started, not wanting to go down this road since it was still barely into the day.

"I was scared, Molly," He clutched my fingers there within his own on my shoulder now as I watched him carefully with his new hair cut, "The whole time I was scared that if I ready lost…lost Eds... I was gonna lose you too," I felt my stomach dropping and my heart bursting at the same time.I slowly moved off of the bed, walking around to stand in front of Richie and look down at him as he was still holding my hand protectively.He was looking up at me, having me see his face now with the new haircut.My God, he was beyond handsome.

"What are you saying, Richie?" I asked him, sounding like I was about to have a panic attack and he was watching me with his eyes behind his glasses.

"I'm saying….that I have feelings for you," I froze, my eyes wide and my hands were going cold for some odd reason.I didn't know what to say or what to do now as I was watching him give me one of the most serious looks he has ever given me.

"Richie…." I trailed off, trying to find the right words and what to say at the moment now since it felt like the floor dropped underneath me and I was in free fall.

"You remember when we were talking on your bed, before the summer when the shit was hitting the fan?" He asked me, though I was still frozen.He shuffled, then getting up from the chair and I moved back a bit to give him room to stand there in front of me, "It was when I told you that I liked boys….and girls."

"I believe a good term for that nowadays is bisexual, Richie," I commented without missing a beat as he went on.

"Well, I knew then that I did like both girls and boys…because I had a huge crush on Eddie at one time…and also with you," He explained, almost hesitant now as I was watching him with one raised eyebrow.He gulped, almost like he was feeling guilty for saying this to me.But it was all slowing swirling together in my brain.I was trying to think back to when I missed the signs, or if they were there and I looked in the other direction.Was it odd that he was liking two people at the same time?Why wasn't I freaked out by it?I knew we all loved each other as a group, that we were close enough to depend on the other.

But with Richie…there was still love there that I was still discovering myself.

"Please say something do I don't look like a total jackass," He said out in a stammer seeing my hesitance and noticing that I wasn't moving around or doing anything.I finally did the one thing I've wanted to do for the longest time but I never got the courage to do it.I was so hesitant for all this time, not wanting to overstep the line and take the leap, until now.The leap had to be made, the risk needed to be met.

Life was short, I lost two friends already to some kind of demon clown, and who knew if we were going to have this kind of moment again.So I placed my hands there on his face, seeing him search my eyes wondering what I was going to do.Was I going to smack him?


	17. Tongue-Tied Tozier?

I pulled back within a second, thinking that I did the worst thing that I could.Maybe he was over me now, and since we both just lost Eddie within hours, this was probably nor the best time at all for something like this.I was acting too brash and too out of place, not with my head as I should.I looked down at Richie, seeing his shocked look and how he was looking at me with huge eyes and a slightly open mouth.Damnit, I knew I overstepped it now.

I took a hesitant step back, trying to place space between both of us and was about to head out the door.My hands were shaking and my breath was getting short.A panic attack was about to consume me from what I did to my childhood best friend, and Richie wasn't going anything.

"I'm sorry—" I was abruptly silenced as Richie shot up from his chair and was slightly towering over me.I was scared, but he placed both of his hands on my neck and pressed his lips to my own.I was stiff as a board, feeling how his chapped lips were pressed so fiercely and yet gently at the same time and his hands on my neck were very gently and possessive at the same time. My hands that were at my sides slowly moved to clutch his shirt within my fingers in fear that he was going to disappear.

I took in a sharp breath through my nose before he pressed another kiss against my lips.This one was bolder and more firm as I tilted my head slightly and breathed in Richie.Nothing else was moving around us, it felt like time was frozen and fuzzy.My head was getting lightheaded like a balloon, I never felt this way about anyone or had this kind of experience with a kiss before. 

I was smitten.

Finally, I pulled away from Richie slightly and opened my eyes slowly to make sure this wasn't a dream and another trick in the mind.But I saw Richie lock my eyes with me, his eyes were just a true and sure.I was still holding his shirt in my hands and I was still staying close to him.

"I've been wanting to kiss you like that since we were 14 years old," Richie said in a hushed tone to me, having me gulp now and flutter my eyes.

"Oh," I replied in a gulp, licking my lips, "Well, I think I've been wanting to kiss you since you rescued Bev and me in the sewers."Richie's eyes went wide and his fingers on my neck almost went stiff from my confession.

"R-r-really?" He asked me in a shocked tone.I grinned from ear to ear as I nodded my head.He let out a shaky breath and his smile came back on his face, "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I just….I remembered you talking to me about your feelings and how…how you were confused.I assumed you only liked Eddie." I confessed to him, shifting in my stance as Richie moved some of my hair from my eyes with his fingertips without losing eye contact with me.

"I did…I mean…I did like him…but Molly.Come on, Molly, it was always you since the beginning." He explained within a breath, my eyes going big now as I clutched his shirt together.

"Don't be pulling my leg, Tozier," I warned, but he shook his head vigorously.

"No, I swear.Eddie came later, but you were my first big crush," He revealed to me.

"Since when?" I asked, Richie pausing as I scanned his eyes, "Really, tell me, Richie."

"If I'm gonna be honest," He started with me, looking far too sheepish for my liking, "Since you came back from that Boston trip with your mom and you wore the green dress to school." I was once again shocked by this news: the one morning when I came to school after my trip to Boston.I remembered all that morning, seeing the group there and how they were reacting to my dress.The one part of that memory was Patrick insulting me, making me forget how Bill, Stan, Eddie, and Richie were reacting to it.They were protective of me of course, but the look on Richie's eyes shifted that morning, and it took me only now to remember it all and realize how it happened.

"To me Molly, you were the most beautiful girl I have ever seen," Richie confessed in his softer tone, the both of us still close enough to breathe each other in.My heart was pumping on overdrive and making me feel as though I could fly.There wasn't another man who made me feel like this, not even close. Sure there were flirts here and there, but nothing stuck. 

Now with Richie, it was brand new and thrilling.I felt like a teenager, a teenager with her first love in front of her and being tongued tied.With was ironic since this was Richie "Trashmouth" Tozier, who can talk a whole room into either loves him or hate his guts.I was always comfortable and safe with him, no matter what happened with both of us, I was always safe with him.

"Okay, now I really wanna kiss you again from just saying that to me," I whispered harshly to him now as I was taking in another breath since now I was saying more than thinking, pulling a Richie maneuver.Richie looked like he was stunned from what I told him, having me make him lose his train of thought.

"Damnit, Molly, you can say that kind of shit to me and not expect me to—" Richie started with me in a stammer before I leaned back in and kissed him boldly.He groaned softly, both of us closing our eyes and drinking all of these new discoveries.I was only going with my feeling this time, not my head as we were pressing kiss after kiss after kiss to each other.It was hungry kisses, nor was it gentle, but it was firm and bold since we both were on the same page. 

One of his hands moved to my lower back as my hands found the side of his face, The angle we were kissing had me bumps his glasses every once in a while and we both couldn't help but giggle from the awkwardness. 

Both of us were still staying as close as we could together and not move apart.Years and Years of being apart, now bring reunited and surviving a second round with the clown. I felt him shift within his stance as he gave me one deep kiss and my toes started to curl into the floor.it felt like I was about to pass out at any moment from all that was happening. 

We pulled away from each other, having me see how Richie looked both shocked and petrified at the same time.His lips were red, his eyes were dilated behind his glasses and his face was flushed from the top to the bottom. We both released each other, out hands going to our sides and I saw him fumble back into the chair he was sitting in before.He looked like he was electrocuted as I took in my own deep breath to get back to reality and down to earth.

"Wow," He said to me, having me feel an instant blush on my cheeks, "That's the first time that I've ever….."

"Tongue-tied, Tozier?" I asked him in a shy manner, seeing him intake a gentle breath as an answer.He then grinned, chuckled really as he hid his smile in his hand as if he was trying to hide his smile in embarrassment.I did that to him, a sense of pride someone through me as I was going through the last five mutes and how we came to this between us.but then I knew reality was sinking into my brain.I didn't know what Richie was thinking, but for me, kissing Richie was sealing my fate. I didn't anything to change between us or drive us apart.Since we finished It, since we did what we came to Derry to do, there was one more question that was on my tongue that spilled out in worry.

"Richie," I said his name, sounding more breathy than it should, "Richie what are we going to do?"

Richie then looked a bit serious as he thought about it, then seeing the uneasiness on my face. He then got back up from the chair and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close to him as I clung onto him for dear life.We were going to have to go back to our old lives, back to what we were doing before we got our call from Mike to bring us back.But now that Richie and I have this, this fresh and scary new development was too important for me to break. 

Richie pressed kisses into my hair, this softer side of Richie was new and amazing for me to see and be a part of.I clung onto his shirt and rested my head against this chest as he took a deep breath.I didn't want to lose Richie, not now since we were starting something new.

"We're gonna figure it out, Molly.I promise."

* * *

I opened the windows in my room at the townhouse later that afternoon, getting the crisp air of the sunset hit my freshly cleaned skin since I hopped out of the shower earlier that day.It was like I was shedding my old skin off and starting a new life all over again.I felt this when I left Derry a long time ago when I packed my bags and left for another life outside the small state of Maine.Back when I was young and stupid, not seeing what there was ahead of me.

I was wearing a fresh police department training shirt and pants, getting my hair to dry in the air and my skin to breathe from being under the blood and sewer water.Even though the sky was blue, the birds were shipping and singing outside my window, I was still feeling odd and almost empty from all that I went through.Richie was going back to his room to make some calls with his agent and get his affairs in order.We were all doing the same, agreeing to stay one more night together there in Derry before we were going to part ways.

There was a knock on the door, having me grunt a bit and snap back in the current time before I cleared my throat.

The door opened, having me look over my shoulder and I saw it was Bill.He too had a shower, some water was still in his hair as he was in fresh clothes and he looked at me with his small shyness on his face and stance. He had one hand shoved in his pants as the other was out when he signed to me: _Can I come in_?

_Yes_.I replied, seeing him walk over to sit next to me on the edge of my bed.He gave me his small smile, having me look intently at him as he folded his hands in front of him on his lap.

"So…how are you?" He asked me, "Feelin' better after a shower?"

"Yeah, turns out having blood and grime on your body is a downer," I dry joked, seeing him give me one of his forced smiles to show that he heard me.I scratched the back of my head, for a moment I didn't know what I was going to say.

"Listen…I wanted to talk to you about…about what happened," Bill explained to me, having me pause with my fingers still in my hair as he cleared his throat.It was making me think that he was having a hard time trying to talk to me, almost uncomfortable as I stared at him, then at the door now, having a thought in my head now that might seem true.

"You?Or the others?" I asked him, looking back at him and placing my hand on the bed sheet between us and starting to tap it.Bill chuckled lightly, having me see how he was watching me avert my eyes from the door to the window back in front of me.

"What gave it away?" He asked me, having me slightly laugh now almost in a sarcastic manner

"I'm a cop, Bill.I can read between the lines and hearing the truth behind a lie," I explained to him, seeing him look down slightly before he locked eyes with me again, "I think you guys tend to forget I'm a cop."

"No," He replied smoothly, getting serious on me now, "We didn't forget that.We just remember you being….our old Molly."

"Someone weak," I commented back to him.Mostly to myself, but to Bill.I felt weak like I didn't do enough back in the sewers to stop Eddie, to keep him alive.It was eating me for the inside out and making me almost sick in my stomach.I hated this, hated that eating feeling in the back fo head and making it worse and worse as I thought about it more and more.

Bill instantly took my hand in his, holding it tightly now between us on the bed and having me see the serious look on his face as I could tell he was about to give me some kind of leadership speech that he would give us as kids.

"If there is one thing that you're not, ever, is weak," He explained softly and yet boldly at the same time, seeing the emotion there on his face and how he was watching me with affection and love, "None of us ever saw you that and we've never did. What happened with…with Eddie," he paused and took a moment just to mention Eddie's name, "That was not you.It was the f-f-f-f-fucking clown."

"Bill," I hushed him, seeing how he was getting worked up thinking about the clown and what it did to us, to Eddie.I took in a shaky sigh as I rubbed his arm with my spare hand.

"It told you that you're worthless, didn't it?" he asked me, having me stay quiet now since I was thinking back to the times the clown mocked me and tried to break me down and make me feel small.Just like how we did to the clown and kill it.I tried to move my head away to not at least cry in front of Bill, and it felt like I had no more tears left in me from all that I already shed.

Bill reached over to place his hand on my cheek, gently nudging me to go back and look at him directly in the eyes.it brought me back to the talk we had together right after Georgie disappeared, sitting on Bill's bed and talking together.I was the one who was consoling Bill, being him in tears as he was blaming himself for the death of his younger brother.I wasn't going to let him beat himself up over something that was not in his control.Was this just the same?We were switched now: Bill was consoling me for the fact that I thought I lost Eddie. 

"You're not weak, Molly," He told me truthfully now as I was scanning his bright blue eyes and I said nothing, my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth, "Out of all of us, I think you're the strongest."

"I'm not as strong as you, Bill," I argued, seeing him give me almost a forced smile since it looked like now he wasn't believing it.I felt him hesitantly place his hand off of my cheek and back on his lap, the hand curled into a fist.it was the same when we were kids when it was eating him from the inside out.I could see the fist now, slowly looking up at Bill.

"Are you okay?" I asked him hesitantly, seeing him barely close his eyes before he breathed out through his nose deeply.

"Yeah," he replied, almost forcefully now as I shook my head at him.

"You're lying," I stated, Bill opened his eyes at me as I gave him one of my softest smiles. He raised an eyebrow at me as I reached up to tap my implant against my ear and the side of my head.

"The one perk about being hearing impaired is using the other senses way more.I can read body language far better than the average hearing person.So, with that being said, your body language is telling me that you're not okay," I explained to him, already seeing it in how he was sitting there next to me.

"I was never okay from the moment I came here to this fucking town….remembering what I did to Georgie." He explained, his voice was low and almost grave as I squeezed his arm and took in my own shaky breath.We both were victims to the clown showing us our fears of blaming ourselves for what happened around us.And yet we both didn't see it in each other.

"I think we both need to realize that we're strong," I reminded him, seeing him think about for a moment, "We're both too blind to see how the others see us."

"Idiots," Bill said in a grumble, having me laugh now as he then chuckled too.The both of us coming to a common close now as it was soothing to be there again between both of us.It was good that we both knew our faults and how we could handle it.It was good to just sit with Bill again, no one else around and being with another soul that felt the same way I did.He leaned over-read pressed his head against my own, the both of us having that small moment together to just connect back together as we did when we were kids.

After a few good moments, I pulled away from him and we both were cool enough to relax there and watch each other now as I took in one shaky breath, "So since we came to do what we were supposed to…where do we go from here?"

"I guess…goin' home," Bill explained to me as he rolled his shoulders to release some tension, "I'm gonna work on a book, who knows."

"If you write a new thriller, can I be your police escort on your book tour?" I asked him lightly, seeing him grin from ear to ear as he then laughed slightly, "Think about it, you're gonna write a best seller and you'll get some crazy fans.I know how to handle a fight, I got your back," I nudged him with my shoulder, back on friendly terms again as he then nodded his head as I grinned.

"You should come to visit, meet my wife.We can hang out like old times," He suggested to me as I rest one foot on the bed, resting my cheek against the knee that was pressed to my chest.Seeing Bill in his element, where I bet he had his own library filled top to bottom with books and a laptop ready to be filled up with his own books.It made my insides warm.

"And you came come to the bay, see the Golden Gate Bridge in all its glory and the parks," I added, already seeing the ideas turn behind his eyes.I watched how the wheels were turning, making me grin now as I knew this was how he would think if he had an idea for a book. 

"I would love to," He replied smoothly back now and he then gave me a knowing look, clearing his throat and then motioning with his thumb to the door leading out to the hallway, "So…I uhh…heard about you and Richie."

I raised an eyebrow to him now, almost looking at him in a scoffed manner as he then gave me a nervous chuckle. 

"From who if I may ask?" I asked him now, almost scoffing from it since now what Richie and I had together was no longer between just the both of us.I could tell Bill wanted to answer, but the look on his face that was on borderline embarrassment was enough to give it away.I rolled my eyes, finding it just from his look.

"I'm gonna kill Ben."


	18. You're Sure About This?

"Molly, you in?"

"Yeah, what's up?" I heard the door opening and Ben poked his head in. We just came back from dinner at one of our favorite diners down in the middle of Derry, still out of it from being in the sewers but coming back to normalcy. Tomorrow we were going to be heading back to our homes and back to our regular lives again, and with plenty of reassurance of the others, I knew they were going to stay in touch this time.

"Wanna come down with us to the study?" He asked me with his grin. I raised an eyebrow at him now since he looked like he was hiding something from me, that or he knew more than I did. He was never good at hiding things completely with his face and in his body language.

"Why?" I asked and signed cautiously, seeing him smirk and shrug his shoulders.

"We're gonna drink the wine that's leftover…that or the whiskey….Bill hasn't decided yet." Ben answered, having me roll my eyes as I pointed to my pajamas that I already got myself in.

"I'm in my pajamas," I explained. Ben moved out from being behind the door slightly and showing he was in his shirts and boxers.

"So am I. Come on before Richie drags you out," He advised me as I rolled my eyes and walked over, putting my hair in a high messy bun now as we both were walking on our barefoot along the carpet over to the stairs.

"Your tactics are futile, Hanscom," I warned him as he nudged me with his shoulder against my own shoulder

"And you and Richie are adorable together, but I'm keeping my mouth shut," He snarked back playfully, making me lock eyes with him now with a stern look.

"And I should be thanking you for letting Bill know about that piece of information that is not even a few hours old," I joked with him, seeing him chuckle with his big smile on his face, "Honestly, how did you find that one out?"

"I found out when you two were asleep in your bed together this morning," Ben replied smoothly, having me stop there in the walkway and Ben stop to look over his shoulder at me. I didn't think anyone else knew what that, nor did anyone else know that Richie came for my room and we both talked about why we were there in Derry.

"I was going to wake you up to see if you wanted to join me for coffee when I saw Richie and you in bed, so I didn't say anything," He explained to me as he saw the look I was giving him. This was not how I wanted the others to know about Richie and me since Richie and I had no idea what we were and how we were going to go forward with our relationship. Ben gave me a reassuring look, walking back over to stand in front of me and place his hand on my shoulder to give me a firm squeeze.

"I won't say anything," He promised and signed at the same time, having me slowly smile at him, "Just like how I won't talk about Richie having a huge crush on you that summer." He walked away and I looked at him in shock now, pointing at him as he was about to hit the stairs. I briskly walked over too, catching up to him.

"Since when did you know that?!" I asked him in a loud whisper while we were descending the stairs to the ground floor.

"Oh come on, Molly. I saw how he was looking at you in the quarry in your swimsuit…It was kind of cute," He commented with a chuckle, singing the work _cute._ Once we reached the bottom of the stairs, I tapped Ben on the shoulder and saw him look down at me with his warm eyes.

"Just to let you know," I started with him, I motioned with my head over to the study where we could hear the others. Ben looked over too, having both of us see Beverly and Richie talking about something. Beverly laughed, at a joke from Richie, her nose wrinkling up and her eyes twinkling in the light.

I could see how Ben was looking at her from where I was standing, how his head was slightly tilted and his smile was beyond soft and adoring to her. I saw it once in Bill as he looked at her when we were kids, and maybe, just maybe, I saw it in Richie's eyes. Hell, every once in a while I did it with Richie, so I knew this look.

"I think you two are great together," I ended, seeing him finally look back at me and I gave him a knowing smile. Ben too had someone on his heart, someone whom he longed and yearned for, and I was rooting for him. I saw the looks when we were younger, the longing gazes around the corner and the kindness they showed in each other. It was pure, it was good.

It was destiny.

I clasped his shoulder once more as I walked away from Ben into the room, hearing him slowly follow me as we were joining the rest of our group.

* * *

That night we were at peace, with at least four bottles of wine gone.

It was good to talk with the others, reminiscing and what we lost from being apart from each other. The mood itself was set, the lights dimmed and the fire lit in the fireplace and blankets were throwing overlaps. Stories were swapped and laughter filled the small room now as we were cozy against one another and taking turns with embarrassing stories and awkward moments.

I was snuggled against Richie on one of the love seats, Richie's back against the armrest and I was against his chest with our legs tangled and wrapped over the sides and Richie's arm wrapped across from me. Before, he was protectively holding me in the sewers in fear that he was going to lose me, but now it was relaxed and gentle since we were safe and secure. He rested his cheek in my hair as we were watching Bill talk about his books turned into movies, which the recent one was a flop in his opinion, and then Ben piping in with how he could make the movie better.

I was warmed up by the red wine, but mostly with being this close to Richie and no longer feeling as though I need to tiptoe around the others. Even Richie was using some of his jokes that he would do in a comedy routine and his voices filled the room. It was just like old times.

We were having this great moment amongst the six of us, and yet the small part of me was still hurting in how Eddie and Stan weren't there. If they were, boy would they be trying to calm Richie down with his antics and roll their eyes at Bill with his wild stories? Eddie would check our cups to make sure they were clean, whereas Stan would say a sarcastic comment every once in a while.

I paused, dozing off for a moment now as I was remembering what happened back with the clown. When I was having that distant early memory at the river and I saw what I assumed would be an adult Stan, telling me not give up and go back to the others. It was hard for me not see him again, and I didn't care if it was a trick or something that clown tried to pull on me. All that matters were that I saw some kind of image of Stan if he grew up, and how he looked like he was fine wherever he was.

"Hey," I felt a small kiss against my hair from Richie behind me. I blinked from my thoughts, seeing that the others were talking to each other now and they weren't seeing me doze off and have my own moment. I looked up at Richie, seeing him peering down at me as he rearranged his glasses with his fingers, "You okay? I thought I lost you for a second."

"No, I'm good. Just thinking is all," I answered, he paused, thinking if I was telling the truth or lying to him. He knew mostly if I was lying, he could read me the most out of the others, but I wasn't lying. I was okay, sad but okay.

I was okay.

* * *

"Wow, Commander didn't think I would hear back from you this late. What happened?"

"You don't wanna know, Inspector,"

"Sure I do. I need some juicy gossip around here to get me through the workday," I grinned softly now as I was getting some of my bag packed and ready to head out. It was early in the morning, waking up early and not being able to go back to sleep. I knew I had to pack sooner or later, but it was harder for me to go this and go back to the real world that was outside fo Derry. I didn't know what the others were going through since we were all going trough the lat of the weights being lifted off of our shoulders and the relief that was flooding us, but to go back as if nothing happened, what were we going to do about that? I was more afraid, since if I forgot about the others when I left once, was I going to forget about them again when I went back to San Francisco?

I loved them all dearly to my heart and after all we went through, it was going to hurt my heart to leave them all behind. And now with Richie, what we both wanted and needed one each other, it was going to be worse, way worse.

"Look, I'll be back with a day or two since I have to tie up a few more loose ends here. How are things in the office?" I asked him as I placed my phone on speaker and zipped up my bag.

"Fine, fit as a fiddle. Nothing worry your pretty head over. The guys just miss you holding the reins around here," Gibbs explained as I could tell he was walking around on the floor of the department, "Seriously, they're all chomping at the bits for you to come back."

"Y'all don't need me that badly, I've trained you well enough," I advised him.

"Nah, you take care of this precinct far too well to go unnoticed when you leave. You needed here, Commander," He reminded me, having me pause in my packing and look at my phone. I was reminded, once again, that I was needed more than I would say to myself. It was a new thing for me to take these kinds of compliments, take them and not to give them back. Of course, the Losers were doing the best at that with me and making sure my head and heart were in the same place.

"Alright, well I'll let you get back rounding up the others and getting things ready for me," I said to him, thinking that I should end the call before it would get even more awkward.

"You got it, Commander. Can't wait to see you again." He replied as I heard the door open carefully into my room. I hung up the phone finally as I saw Richie poke his head into the room. I took off my cochlear, needing a break from it now since my head was feeling off and a headache was coming through.

He looked much better than he did before with a new clean cut of hair, shorter around his eyes and ears and his glasses looking clean as well. He was wearing a gray shirt, a blue flannel over the shirt and dark blue jeans with his sneakers. Even though he was dressed down, he looked handsome to me.

Once we were locking eyes with each other, I move away from my suitcase as he closed the door behind him and gave me a warm smile. He pointed to my bag.

"You getting ready to head out?" He asked me, having me fold my hands and nod my head.

"Yeah, sooner or later I need to get back to work in San Francisco," I explained, feeling a bit and that we were going to have this conversation now. Richie left off too, at least he looked off standing in front of me as he pointed to the door behind him.

"I..uhh…made some calls last night before we hung out," he explained, having me wait to see what he was saying, "My agent's livid. I didn't think he could swear to me that much in one sentence, and he said I was a handful,"

"You are a handful," I said in agreement, seeing him give me a small smile, something was on his mind. I took a step towards him, wanting to take his hand in my own now since it felt like it could make him feel better. but the time I stayed still and I didn't move, I knew he was going to tell me something that I may not like.

"Richie, you can talk to me, right?" I reassured him, seeing him nod his head softly now as he then uncomfortably cleared his throat.

"I know I can…it's just…. I was thinking a lot about us," He explained, pausing to think. I felt my heart sinking to the ground, already thinking of the worst in my head. Of course, he would be thinking about what was going to happen after we were down with Derry, we both had successful lives that were not even close to each other. Why was I thinking that it could work?

Richie noticed my face, how I was going pale and almost clammy as he then looked like he was about to panic. Within an instant, he was shaking his head rapidly at me and then rushing over to place his hands on my arms to at least balance me from not falling onto the bed.

"No…no no! Molly, Christ no, I'm not…Goddamnit, I'm doing this wrong! Look at me," he urged at me as he looked down at me with worried eyes. I blinked slowly looking up at him and seeing his face and how he was holding my arms so gentle and yet possessive. He was fumbling a bit now as he took in a deep breath and was reentering in his mind.

"Shit, I had this better planned out in my head when I was rehearsing this," He muttered only to himself mostly before he looked directly at me, "I told my agent….about me moving out to San Francisco." I was shocked, looking right at him now with bigger eyes than before. Within an instant I reached over to grab the cohlear implant and place it on to make sure I was hearing him correctly. At first, I thought he wanted whatever we started to end, and now….he was going to San Francisco.

Where I worked….where I lived….

"You're…going to San Francisco…" I tried to piece it together but it was still jumbling around and not making sense. Richie gave me a tilt of his head and a grin on his face like he was the one in on the joke and I wasn't.

"I recall you telling me you're never gonna leave me, Molly," He reminded me with such an adoring tone, having me gulp now as he went on, "And I don't know about you, but given all the shit we went through the past 24 hours, there's no way in the pits of hell that I'm going anywhere without you." I breathed out shakily now as I was going through a lot of things at the current moment.

It was almost too much to even think about, making me slowly sink onto the edge of the bed and looking right ahead of me now, not even at Richie anymore. I was thinking too hard, thinking too fast now as I rubbed my eyes with my face. At first, I didn't hear Richie move, but when I opened my eyes, he was crouching down in front of me and taking both of my hands in front of his.

"I know I talk shit a lot, hell it's part of my nickname," He explained with a chuckle shortly while I was watching him, "But I know I'm serious about this: I'm sticking with you from here on out until you get tired at me." I gave him a look, seeing that he was thinking that very notion that I would be getting tired of him sometime in the future, Was he thinking like that all the time, almost the sense and the worry about being alone and driving others away. I sighed, finally making some noise from all of this now as I grasped out fingers together between the both of us.

"I would never get tired of you," I reminded him, "I never did," I paused once more before I gave him a concerning look, "But Richie…you can't just leave all you have to come to San Francisco…with me,"

"I just did, like literally five minutes ago," He replied with a shrug of his shoulders. He was so casual about it.

"Well…w-w-w-what about your career? Your stand up?" I asked in a stammer since I was still wrapping my head around it.

"Did Bill's stutter rub off on you?" Richie asked as a joke to deflect the question.

"Beep Beep," I silenced him. He rolled his eyes.

"Perks about being a comedian: you can go wherever you want and make it work. I've done it for years, it's nothing," Richie explained.

"You don't have a house?"

"Never had a permanent place, if I did it would already be burned down anywho. It didn't feel like I should…It was like…" he stopped for a moment, maybe thinking to himself and trying to figure it out in his own brain, "Like I was waiting to be permanent all his time. Fuck, I don't even know," He shifted, getting up and sitting next to me, still holding my hand within both of his hands now as he looked at me with determination, "But Molly, I know the I can go anywhere as long as you're gonna be there with me,"

"You're sure about this?" I asked him, wanting to make sure that this wasn't any kind of drastic decision that Richie would make from time to time. He would fly off the handle, the whole time going one way and then the other within a second. It was something we were used to, but was it one fo those moments. Or was he for real?

"Molly Harper," he stated, "You're my best friend and the love of my fucking life. If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't have said anything. But this whole time we were here, dealing with this shit, all we've done, this was not a hesitation for me." I nodded my head, knowing that I was thinking the same thing now as he was right. There was no way we could go back to having a regular life after what we saw and went through. We all changed and we all shifted, and Richie and I were choosing for shifting together.

I finally leaned over to plant a firm kiss on his lips, not wanting to make it even more than it was. Richie held it for what seemed like forever, the both of us still getting those butterflies within our stomachs from this new relationship we were forming. I finally pulled away, both of us still and not moving an inch as I finally opened my eyes slowly at him. I saw the wrinkles along his face, the stubble coming in very faintly and his short hair framing his face neatly. A smile was there on my face finally, noticing that he was watching me carefully.

"I'll never leave, Richie. I promise," I reassured him, letting it sink in with him now as I finally leaned back a bit and got more relaxed on the bed, "As for you living with me….we're gonna need a bigger apartment,"

"I am going to need an extra room for all of my writing material…..and my excessive comics….and of course my Hawaiian shirts that I collected...." Richie said, sounding more like himself now as he was listening things off to make the mood better. I giggled, flushing a bit now as I rolled my eyes. I leaned back into him to silence his rant.

"Beep Beep," I said against his lips.


	19. Epilogue Part 1

"I wanna show you something," Richie said to me as we pulled over to the side of the road near the outskirts of Derry.It was late morning as we left the townhouse finally, staying our goodbyes to the others and getting their phone numbers and addresses.It was hard to see them go, hugging each one of them fiercely and kissing them, knowing that this was not going to be the last that we were going to see each other.I didn't want it to be the last, and I could tell the others didn't want it to be the last either.

Richie and I were going to drive out to the airport, at least Richie was going to drop me off before he headed back to Chicago to take care of some of his things.He was going to meet me in San Francisco in two days, giving me enough time to both get back into work and maybe, just maybe, look for a new apartment out there for the both of us.I knew we could afford something a bit bigger, plus I had a few favors to fill in from the others I helped on the force.

"What is it?" I asked as I got out of the red car and walked over to where he was going.I remembered where we were: the Kissing Bridge. Plenty of people came here in the past, teenagers mostly, and they would care their names on the wood railings along the side of the road with the river going underneath it.It was a nice little area, I rode my bike over the bridge plenty of times as a kid, either by myself or with the group.

"Here," Richie said to me as he took my hand and guided me over to where he was going, more to the middle and slightly to the right.He crouched down, having me go slowly too to be at his level.He reached in his pocket and took out a stiff army knife from his white cotton jacket pocket, having me follow where he was pointing the blade.There, along the wood and looking outdated and ancient like the others, there were two letters and a symbol in the middle of it.

**R + E**

"I did this that summer," Richie explained to me as he then placed the blade against the E and made it bolder with a few strokes against the wood, "I was hiding it from all of you, and that clown made it worse.After I fought with Bill and we stopped talking, I didn't tell anyone," He smoothed the marks with his fingers, and then worked on the R now.I was watching him, saying nothing now as he was determined to make it look right and good.

"I know Eddie loved you," I reassured him, seeing him finally lean back a bit and do some of his handy work with a sigh of relief.There was a sad smile on his face, feeling the ache from not having Eddie there to show him.Maybe it would be different if Eddie knew if he had some realization of how Richie was feeling. 

I slowly took the pocket knife, feeling as though I needed to place some mark there.I started against the wood, working against it and moving my knife along the surface to dig it deeper.Richie watched quietly as I finally moved back and handed him back the knife after closing the blade.Richie looked a the mark, his smile bigger now as he saw what I made.I grinned too, knowing that it was a good send-off for the both of us.

We both walked back to the car, Richie during us away from Derry for the rest of our lives and not turning back.It was a breath of fresh air, a sigh of relief, and it made me smile beyond compare.I held Richie's spare hand in between both of us while he drove off.I left one more letter there along with the two Richie did:

**R + E + M**

* * *

**Three Weeks after Leaving Derry**

"How about this?" Both Richie and I walked into the apartment that was gutted, following the Real Estate Agent as she was typing away on her iPad and looked around at the scenery there.I was quiet, taking in the much bigger space and seeing how high the windows were in comparison to my old apartment that was currently up for sale.

Richie and I were moving in together.

Since Richie made his decision about being with me, I knew there wasn't going to be anything that was going to change his mind: we were a packaged deal.According to his agent that was a dumb decision since the agent hasn't met me yet and he thought Richie was out of his mind.Of course, Richie wouldn't keep his mouth shut about where the agent can shove his foot.I was about to hang up the phone for Richie so he could keep his mouth shut and before he could embarrass himself, but Richie already did beforehand.

Now that Richie was planting roots in San Francisco with me, finding a new comedy clubs that he could plug into and then having his agent get more shows, finding our own place was the biggest thing that we needed to do.

"Great location in Rincon Hill, right down the road from the Police Department and plenty of nightclubs and restaurants.Also, having the baseball stadium nearby doesn't hurt muchThe price, in my opinion, is better than ever at this time of year," The agent explained to us as I was looking out the window overlooking the bay and the high rises.We were on the top floor, the penthouse suite be exact, though it was smaller than other penthouses in the city.I knew we didn't need a big space, but it was still a nice new change for us to jump into.

"Wow," I looked over to see Richie standing next to me, his eyes looking at every inch of the scenery in front of us as his hands were shoving in his leather jacket pockets.He looked nervous about seeing all of the buildings and the closeness, "So many fucking buildings…"

"Beg your pardon?" The agent asked, not hearing Richie since Richie was muttering under his breath.I smiled at her.

"My boyfriend's not used to the San Francisco Skyline," I explained, seeing her smile and nod her head.

"Where are you from, Mr. Tozier?"

"I lived in Chicago for the last few years, give or take," Richie answered, seeing all e buildings behind his thick glasses.

"Ah, so this is a new breath of fresh air for you," She said in a chuckle as Richie nodded his head, still has his eyes on the window and the high scenery.I placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, rubbing it once and twice before I looked back at the agent.

"What happened to the previous owners?" I questioned.

"Divorce, and if I do say so myself, it was particularly nasty.Both parties couldn't come to a common decision, so they put it up for sale," At the agent explained to me as I walked over to the massive kitchen area, "There are three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a washing and dryer add-ins with the second bathroom, a private balcony at the master bedroom and walk-in closet.As you can tell, you get this floor to yourself, not to mention your own parking spot down below."

"Sounds reasonable," I commented as I inspected the cabinets.I could see Richie wandering over to one of the bedrooms, maybe the master bedroom as the agent walked over to me.

"Far reasonable.With your job at the police academy, you can very well afford this.And as for Mr. Tozier…"

"He's a comedian, actually having a few gigs here in San Francisco and an HBO special coming out in a month," I explained, seeing her eyes glint a bit hearing about Richie and how he was getting successful.I was proud of Richie, getting back into the realm of comedy after what we went through back in our hometown.It was scary for him, but he took a leap of faith when he knew he could do it. 

"Good for him." The agent replied, typing a few more things on her iPad as I walked over to where Richie wandered, "Let me make a few calls while you guys decide,"

"I'll see where he wandered off," I commented to her as she nodded and took out her phone.I walked down one of the hallways, seeing nothing but white there along the walls and the sounds of my feet hitting the hardwood floor. 

Finally turning to the left, I saw Richie there in what could be the master bedroom.The windows were from the floor to the ceiling, and yet the room wasn't so huge as I thought.But it was big enough, showing the entire skyline of San Francisco from near too far.It was a great view, beyond great view now as I stood next to Richie and I placed a reassuring hand on his neck, squeezing it slightly now to get his attention without spooking him.

"What do you think?" I asked him in a soft whisper.

"Seemed too good to be true" He replied, looking all over the place in front of the window before he looked over at me, an uneasy look on his face.

_What is it? _I signed to him quietly, not knowing if the agent was closely to hear out conversation.He took a moment before he took out his hands from his jacket pockets.

_I feel bad._ He signed, having me look at him in confusion.

_Why?_ I asked him, seeing him sigh now and I could tell he was trying to find the right words to say it.

"Look, I get we wanna do this together and everything, but a penthouse?" He asked in a rushed whisper, "I mean…isn't going to be a bit pricey?"

"I don't mind it since I can afford it myself," I reminded him, "I kept my old place because I liked the view…but come on Richie, this view is much better,"

"It is," Richie agreed, looking back out at the skyline as I did the same too, "But…I feel like I should be helping out with this."

"You are," I answered, "Your HBO special is making you a lot of money, not to mention your permanent spot here in the city with the new club we talked to.Plus, Ben said he would find us a great place, and he knew the architect who made this building."I saw him drink it all in now as I reached down and took his hand, lacing our fingers together and feeling the sense of peace there with him next to me. 

"Look at me, Rich," I said to him softly, having him look over at me now as I grinned at him, "Not only can we do this, but we will do this.We owe it to ourselves since we're all about staring over and having a new life.Besides, we both kind of deserve having a new place," It felt right, doing something like this for the both of us, and to hit the restart button.Before Richie could say something else, my phone rang in my pocket and I looked to see who it was.

"Speaking of which," I said, hitting the speaker button and holding the phone between the both of us, "Hey there, Haystack."

"Molly, good to hear from you," Ben said in the phone, his voice sounded lighter than ever now as it sounded like he was somewhere near water, or maybe at a bay, "Wanted to check in on you guys and see how your tours are going with the apartment hunting."Richie snorted as I smacked him against his stomach to be quiet about it, "You're at the penthouse in Rincon Hill, right?"

"Yes.I like it," I answered, "Richie, on the other hand.."

"Oh for Fuck's sake," Richie muttered, having me grin at him now as he was giving me a death glare, "I wasn't—"

"Trashmouth, shut up for one second and listen to me." Ben said on the phone now as we were both watching the phone, "This place is perfect for both of youNot only do I know the guy who helped draw up the schematics on this building, but I helped him too with the finishing touches.This is prime estate you guys are gonna buy, and with my credentials, you're getting a great value on the property.In your own words, Richie, this shit is legit."

"Gee thanks, Benny boy," Richie dryly thanked.I giggled, not only for how Ben was being straight forward with Richie, but how Richie was going along with it too.

"Of course, that's what Losers are for," Ben replied in a light tone.

"Where are you, by the way?" I asked, "It sounds like you're near water."

"Oh, Beverly and I are going on a trip on my yacht in San Diego," He explained, "A much-needed getaway."

"You have a fucking yacht?!" Richie said in shock, "You didn't tell us that!What the fuck, Haystack?!"

"That wasn't our main topic when we were in Derry, was it?" Ben countered back, having me roll my eyes at Richie now as he scoffed.

"I feel cheated, abused from not knowing information like this!" he said in a mocking hurt tone, Ben chucked as I finally held the phone close to me now,

"Please tell Beverly hi for the both of us as we go and sign these papers," I said to Ben, "And you two need to come and see the place when we're settled in."

"Sounds good to me, we'll bring a house warming gift," Ben answered, I heard the echo fo shoes coming our way, having me clear my throat.

"The agent's coming back, we're gonna go," I told Ben.

"Congrats guys!" Ben said before I hung up and placed the phone in my jacket pocket again.Like clockwork, the agent walked into the master bedroom with a big grin on her face. I looked over at Richie for one brief moment, seeing him give me a better smile than before, maybe from hearing Ben reassure him that what we were doing was the best thing to do.He squeezed my arm now in happiness as I cleared my throat and looked at the agent.

"We'll take it."

* * *

After what seemed like forever with getting new furniture and moving my old furniture to the new apartment, we were settled into our new apartment.It was a breath of fresh air, getting a place for ourselves now as we were sitting together one of the old couches that I brought over from my old place.It was still bare, the purchases we made were going to come in later on in the week and since we only had a few dishes, my old bed, and a couch and coffee table with a tv set against the wall, it was enough.

It felt more than enough.

Richie ordered a pizza as I got ourselves a bottle fo wine, the both of us sitting on the couch with the bay view to our left and the movie Back to the Future in front of us. 

"Once this baby goes 89 miles per hour…" Richie trials off, quoting the movie now as I was taking a drink from the wine, he then contorted his face to look like Christopher Lloyd, "You're gonna see some serious shit!"

I almost choked on my wine now as the rest went down my throat.Richie said to me and chuckle, tapping the back of my neck carefully to make sure that I was breathing as I laughed and looked at him in a mocked offended tone.

"You're gonna ruin the couch!" I scolded him and yet I was still grinning from his voice.

"At this rate, we can get a new one," Richie argued but I shook my head.

"Hell no, we're not getting a new couch!" I argued back at him now as I pointed to the couch with my spare hand, "This couch was the first thing I ever bought on my own.I love this thing: plenty of cases were solving sitting here during late-night coffee runs, thousands of times I slept here when I didn't make it to the bed," I felt prideful talking about a goddamn couch, in which Richie smirked from seeing how enthusiastic I was about the couch.He then pointed to a particular spot on the couch near the armrest.

"So…this stain here is memorable to you?" He asked, almost in a mocked digested tone as I shoved him playfully.

"That's a bloodstain."

"Christ, what did you do?"

"It was nothing," I paused, thinking about it and how I got that bloodstain there, it almost made me forget then as I placed my wine glass in front of me on the coffee table.

"Seems like something to me," Richie said softly, no longer sounding like he was about to joke with me.He looked more somber about it, in which I was looking at the stain now and not paying attention to anything else.

"It was right after I became a cop," I explained, "They made me talk to a therapist to see if I was good enough to have the job.I was petrified, not knowing if they were going to hire me or not." I paused, seeing Richie still watch me as I was rubbing my eyes with my fingers and leaning back a bit on the couch.Within a moment Richie laid his hand across the back of the couch and had his fineries along my neck.

"The night after I met with the therapist I came and sat down right here, having a full-on panic attack.All I could think about….what how I failed int he past and how this was going to be one more thing to add onto the list." It felt and the I was spilling this on Richie when we were celebrating our first night together there in our new home. 

"Thank God I didn't fail, right?" I said aloud, mostly to myself as I felt a sense of relief thinking about that interview.Who knew what would have happened if I failed and wasn't allowed to be a cop, what would have happened to my life.Richie's hand moved from my beck over to cup my cheek, having me felt the fingers against my skin to get my attention onto him.

"If that therapist thought you failed…then he didn't know a goddamn thing about you." He reminded me, having me grin at him now as he was shifting to face me more on the couch, "I doubt anyone really knows a whole lot about you apart from the Losers.I feel the same way about myself too, you know.You guys are the only ones that knew me, even from being apart from each other, it always felt like you guys knew me the best."

"Maybe that's how it was supposed to be," I explained with a shrug of my shoulders now, " The 8 of us were supposed to know each other the most….all because of that summer and even before that too,"

"Who else is going to know that you're favorite fruit to eat in the summer is ripe strawberries," Richie said in agreement now as I was smiled sweetly at him, "Or how you like to like summer rain the most out of all of us, and your movie of choice, of course, is Halloween."

"Shut it, Tozier," I said in a playful warning as he went on with his list.

"You hate sushi, in which you threw up after I dared you to eat some at the sushi place.And you're beyond ticklish on the ribs," He then eyed me with a challenging look.I glared back at him, seeing that look before when we were far younger and still being best friends.Before that summer and before all things went bad, we were just kids and Richie found one of my sweet spots.

"Don't you dare…" I trailed off, but then Richie took the first lunge.I tried to block him, but once he had his fingers under my arms against my ribs, I was a goner.I was laughing so hard I was in tears as he was tickling and getting me to lay on my back on the couch.Our movie was long forgotten, just both of us acting like children again.I was riding on the high of the tickle session, trying to both make it stop and yet keep the feeling going.

"Say uncle!" He urged me as I was trying to get him back, only getting him a handful of times now but he was clearly winning.

"No!Never!" I said in hysterical laughter as he was digging his fingers in harder and I was thrashing around more.

"You're not gonna win, say it!" He said to me now as he was getting close and closer to having em wish I could say uncle and get it done.We were much bigger than we were as kids, less room to squirm around and away from Richie since I could have done that in the past.But now, I was may too big length wise and although Richie was mostly bones with a hint of music behind him, he was still stronger than me in this battle.

"Say it, Molly!"

"N-n-n-no!" I stuttered in the middle of a giggle.

"Say it!"I did say something, but it wasn't what Richie had in mind when he was tickling me there.It was the first thing that popped in my head, the one thing that I was thinking about all this time but I never got the chance or the courage to tell him.We were trying to get our life back together, pressing the restart button and all I could think about was dropping the three words.

Richie released me briefly when I was wheezing and laughing, my eyes closed and crinkling at the sides since it felt like I was on another level of bliss from all that was going on.I felt his fingers stop as I breathed out and dropped the word bomb.

"I love you…" I trailed off, not realizing what I said for a few brief moments before everything slowed down to a halt. It made me breathe in sharply, feeling nothing from Richie for a moment or two and I slowly opened my eyes.He was hovering over me, his hand on the back of the couch to hold him up and his other hand was slightly hovering in the air above my ribcage.He looked like he was about to be shocked if he touched me, but his eyes and face showed a different story.He looked like he stumbled on something beyond precious and valuable, his face softened and content as he searched my eyes.His face was flushed, having me see some color on his skin along his cheeks.

"What'd you say?" He asked me, almost wishing he didn't.Did he hear me wrong?Did he think I was just saying it for him to stop?Maybe he did, not I felt like I had to get it out in the open before anything else did happen.I wanted to say it, and at that moment where both of us were in our simplest happiest moment together since we reunited within a few weeks.I breathed out one more time to make sure I was in the right state of mind, reach up to move some of his fallen hair out from over his face.

"I love you," I breathed out, softer and simpler this time.We were frozen in time, the three words that were floating in my brain and bouncing around back and forth.All of those memories as children, all of those times we had together briefly before we left each other, and once again when we were together to end a horrific nightmare, it's been long overdue that I would tell him and confess to him.

Richie then leaned in and pressed his lips into my own.I felt butterflies, every time he kissed me ever since the first time back in Derry.It was making my stomach curl now as he pressed kiss after kiss and his hand on my rib wrapped around my waist to pull me closer to him.I immediately wrapped my arms around his neck and our kisses were getting deeper and more intense by the second.It felt like all of his bottled up emotion that we both had for the other was finally boiling over and we had no intention of slowing down.

"Fuck this!" Richie growled against my lips as he then hoisted me up with him and we both were standing up next to the couch.He wrapped both of his arms around me and I was flush against him, kissing him a few times before he started leading me over towards our master bedroom.

"What about the movie?" I asked against his lips as I rang one hand through his hair and inadvertently pulling to make him groan against my lips.

"This is far more interesting," He replied in a huff as he was leading the both of us through the living room to the master bedroom.I giggled against his lips, knowing it was true as we both were tumbling into what could be best described as pure bliss and pure euphoria.He paused before we made it to the bedroom, almost halfway through the door as he looked at me with a shaky breath, "And just make it so that I'm not a dick: I love you too."

"I know that, dickhead." I joked with him as he grinned from ear to ear.

"You did not," He argued back at I rolled my eyes and framed his face within my hands and planted one more deep kiss on his lips.I felt his hold around my waist tighten as he groaned.

"I do too, now quit talking and get this shirt off of me," I commanded him playfully and softly against his lips as he pulled me into the bedroom. 

That night I slept without a nightmare, without hesitance, and without fear, and it was all because of Richie.


	20. Epilogue Part 2

**Three Months after Derry, Maine.**

"Oh my god…"

"Beep…."

"Can't even…complete a Beep could you?"

"Shut up and let me catch a breath,"I gasped out to him as I was looking up at the ceiling in our bed, the both of us catching our breaths and getting a breather.I was smiling, my heart going beyond faster than it ever had before, not to mention my adrenaline was going at a fast pace as we both were sighing in relief and recovery from intense lovemaking.

It was always fresh, at least to me to feel fresh whenever we would be intimate like this.It felt like we were remaking up a lot of lost time that we minded out over the years of not remembering each other, but Richie and I were willing to stay together read we were going through all the emotions together.This, being one of those motions, was great for both of us.

"Damnit…I'm old," He grumbled as he too was coming down from his high and he gulped a few times.I pulled the bedsheet cover over my chest and I grinned bigger now, pushing over to lay on my side and watch Richie as he was looking dead up at the ceiling.His hair was messy and almost pulled in different spots, a thin sheen of sweat was on his skin and his Adam's apple was bobbing from his pride breaths he was taking.

"You're not old," I reminded him, seeing him smirk now as I rested my head on my hadn't that was propped on an elbow and looking at him with my grin, "You're wiser if anything,"

"I'm wiser, if I'm wiser, then Ben's a fucking swim model," Richie muttered as he shifted around a bit in our bed, having me see the moonlight shine through into our room and hit Richie at the right spot.He looked out of this world, and maybe I was thinking beyond my logical brain, but I couldn't stop staring at him.

"I think I might have pulled something in my leg this last round," Richie commented, moving his left leg aroundas I giggled, seeing him give me a sideways glance, "If we were 10 years younger…"

"You'd still be just as good as you are now," I reminded him, reaching over with my spare hadn't and lacing our sweaty fingers together and feeling his squeeze his fingers against my own, "For an old man, you're really great in bed."

"Beep beep Molly," He grumbled, though there as a smirk still there on his lips.We both were good and content therein silence as our hearts were calming down.It was quiet and soothing, the cool air from the slightly cracked open door to our balcony made it easier for me to feel more at ease.

"That's the first time you ever Beep Beeped me," I commented back to him with a light tone, almost in a shy giggle since it did dawn on me then. 

"Yeah well, you're talking up false facts there, sweetheart," Richie explained as he reached over to grab his glasses to throw on his face, "But man….why are we old and doing this now?Not that I'm complaining or anything, but still…"

"Well I don't know about you, but maybe it's something to do with some old curse that's been cursing our hometown all because of the fucking clown.But hey…that's just me," I replied in a snarky comment as I saw him laugh a bit now as he was slowly sitting up on the bed.I saw his bareback as the rest of the sheer on his side were bunched around his waist, seeing how his pale skin was against the natural moonlight and showing me some of the freckles along his skin.

"That made me think," he said out of the blue, moving around a bit to sit next to me still and peer down at me with his big eyes behind his glasses, then motioning between the both of us, "If we didn't have to deal with….It and all," he paused, having me nod my head to show hat I was listening, "Would you and I still have this?"

"This?" I asked, not getting what he saying at first.

"What we have right now…being together and everything,"Richie kept going, thinking more outside of his head, "If we didn't have that summer or something like that, if we grew up normally…would we still be together like this?" I paused, drinking in all that he was saying.Sure he might have a point, that the summer together as kids made all the difference in the world, not to mention us having to fight a powerful evil demon-like source that wants us dead.Was that the only way we could be together? 

"We had to have," I admitted, "I knew we had that one summer to fight It, and now we came back, and it was the reason we forgot everything and each other.But if nothing happened, if we stayed the same…"

"I would still be afraid," Richie commented in a low tone, having me freeze and look at him in worry.

"What are you talking about, Rich?" I asked.I saw him bit his lower lip and rub his jaw in hesitation as he was thinking really hard within his brain.

"I was afraid of who I was and who I liked…and that summer was one of the worst ones thanks to both Bowers and It," Richie started to explain, "And now that I'm thinking about it…if it wasn't that demon clown…and as crazy as if it going to sound coming out of my mouth…that clown made me come out."

"It showed you your fear," I reminded him, "It showed us all of our fears,"

"Yeah, and my fear was being rejected and alone," Richie added with more vigor this time, "I would still be afraid since that clown wouldn't have exposed that to me, then and now when we went back.I would still be…reserved and afraid,"

"Sounds like you're thanking the clown for bringing us together, Richie," I commented, not wanting to talk about it so much anymore now since this was the last place we should be talking about the clown.Richie dry chuckled now, having me lean back down and look back at the ceiling. 

It was an odd thing to think about, but now it was making me rethink over and over now as we were in our new bed, in our new home together, and for some reason, I shouldn't be having these feelings of doubt creep in.

"I still would have chosen you," I heard in a soft tone, having me not move now as I felt some movement there in the bed and the familiar sense of warmth as a hadn't wrapped around my waist and pulled me close.I didn't mean to feel absolutely stiff and still, but the way Richie was still staying close to me and was now laying next to me in the bed, his head near my own and his eyes looking at me, "Doesn't matter what that fucking clown was doing to my head, or all of our heads really.It's like what I said before, Molly, you were it for me since we were younger,"

"You were it for me too," I replied back smoothly as he kissed the back fo our joined hands, the both of us just drinking this all in.I maundered so I could face him again with my head on the pillow.He smiled softly at me, "Long before we were friends with the others, you made me feel so loved and special even as kids.That means a lot to me, Richie."

"Yeah well, the feeling's mutual," Richie replied as I leaned over to plant a kiss there on his lips.I kept it there for the longest time, pressing kiss after kiss now in our bed.It wasn't making things heated as it did before when we got here, but it was enough to have the warmth spread all over me now.

"You mean the world to me," Richie promised against my lips as I rake my hands softly in his hair, "Do you believe me?" I pulled away from him to see the look on his face and the uncertainty.If there was one thing Richie always feared: it was abandonment.He never wanted to be alone, making me wonder what he did those 27 years we were apart.It made me so sad to think about, having someone as cheerful and outgoing as Richie being saddened and alone.

“I do,” I answered, sounding bold about it and not a single sense of hesitance behind it. 

* * *

"It's on, Commander!The Special's on!"I briefly looked up from my desk to see what Gibbs was talking about, then smiling as I saw Richie there on the screen.He was right in the center of the stage, microphone in hand and his other hand casually in his pocket as he was getting the crowd comfortable with him.

"How are ya'll doing?I know it's been a bit since I was in the spotlight, but you know, a good run in at the childhood town does make a guy think he's gone crazy, but that's a normal thing for me really," The crowd was laughing now as he was diving into his routine.Of course, he would rehearse with me before he would get it all ready for the rehearsal and the taping.It happened so fast, right after we came home from Derry and he was already talking to his agent about what he can do to get plugged into to get his status back to where it used to be.

"And this other time, my friends and I got into this massive rock fight with the school bully, a huge one.I was slammed hard in the forehead with a massive rock, and all I could say back to the guy was ‘Go blow your dad you mullet-wearing asshole'.Guys, I was a 13-year-old kid talking about blowjobs…man was I messed up."

A howl of laughter was heard on the screen, having me grin now as I was looking back at the computer screen.

"Not gonna watch your boyfriend?" Gibbs asked me as I shrugged.

"I've heard this set plenty of times, he's gonna nail it.He told me he did great when they filmed this," I explained, "Plus, it's weird hearing him on the tv screen,"

"Must be hard," Gibbs commented now as I then heard a tap on the door.I looked up, seeing one fo the sergeants come in with a massive pile of letters and packages. 

"Sorry for the interrupting Commander, but theses were labeled to your old address and they made their way here.I guess the mailman forgot you moved, so here they are," The officer said to me as he gently placed the pile there on top fo my desk near my computer.I could see they were mostly bills and other random pieces of mail. 

"Thanks, Sargent," I thanked him as I was looking at the huge stack of mail.I could hear the T.V. going on next to me as I grabbed the stack and started to go through each piece one by one.With my luck, they were just random pieces of mail and nothing more than chain mail.The first half was nothing but bills and other promotional pieces of mail, nothing new in my mailbox really.But it was towards the end of the stack, at the very bottom, that I noticed one thick manila envelope with my name written in great penmanship handwriting and it made me freeze for a moment.There was no return name, at least there was no name, but an address from Atlanta, Georgia.

Atlanta?Who did I know from Atlanta?

"Hey, Gibbs, can you leave me the room for one second?" Iasked Gibbs as I was still looking at the letter, itself like more than one piece of paper was within the envelope.

"Yeah I need to help out with another case anyhow," I heard Gibbs reply as he walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.I opened the back and took out two envelopes, one of them had nothing labeled on the front, and the other had my first name there in the perfect penmanship.I wondered who it was, and when I opened the first letter, I felt like I was about to stumble upon some random discovery.

**Dear Losers**

**I know what this must seem like, but this is not a suicide note. You're probably wondering why I did what I did. It's because I knew I was too scared to go back. and if we weren't together if all of us alive weren't united, I knew we'd all die so, I made the only logical move. I took myself off the board. Did it work? Well, if you're reading this, you know the answer.**

**I lived my whole life afraid. afraid of what would come next, afraid of what I might leave behind.Don't. Be who you want to be. be proud. and if you find someone worth holding onto, never ever let them go. Follow your own path, wherever that takes you. Think of this letter as a promise, a promise I'm asking you to make. To me. To each other. An oathSee, the thing about being a loser is you don't have anything to lose. So be true. Be brave. Stand. Believe.And don't ever forget, we're losers and we always will be.**

**Stanley**

I felt the letter drift from my fingers onto the desk stop, my mind freezing up from what I read.Was it true?Was this really from Stan?It didn't seem like it, almost like I was being given some kind of a joke now as I was blinking slowly and slowly running my hands through my hair,It was too much, and it made me feel short of breath and almost in panic mode.The first letter was looking right up at me as I heard another round of cheers and applaud from the tv, something so cheerful was now being overseen by something so fragile and tragic.

"So I have a girlfriend now," Richie said to the audience, hearing a couple of whistles and claps from the audience as he nodded his head with a big grin on his face.I felt a small sense of ease seeing him there on the stage.Wait, did he get a letter too?

"She's the best, she calls me out on my shit.And, to be fair, I tried to call her out on her own shit too, but see…she's a cop," A chorus of "ooohhh's" were heard and he chuckled, "I know, I know!Trying to get my girlfriend back from a comeback is literally asking for a death wish.I mean, this girl, as beautiful and gorgeous as she is, this girl can pretty much bench press me and snap my neck if she could.I've seen her in a fight…I don't know if it's frightening or pretty hot, to be honest." I somewhat smiled from how he was bringing me up in his set at his show.He didn't mention this part to me, so it was brand new for me to hear it and I felt warmth there within my chest.

"But in all honesty, she's the best.We've known each other since we were 7 years old…the good ol' days of me eating sand in the sandbox and her watching me with shame.But hey, it took me almost 30 years to land her with me, so I must have improved in some department."I chuckled then too, the audiences laughing and cheering.But now I was looking at the second letter, the one that had my name written right on the top and I was afraid of what this one was going to say.Why did I get a second letter in the first place?Was there more with the first letter?Slowly, and with a hint of fear, I opened the second letter and leaned back a bit in my chair as the TV went on with Richie's Special:

**Molly,**

**I wanted to write to you separately from the other Losers since you all got the same kind of letter.But with you, I had something else to say and I know I have to say it before I kill myself.Of course, it's not the way you wanted me to die, or how any of us wanted to die, but I know what I have to do.Please don't see me differently than you did when we were kids, but if it's something I had to do to have you guys defeat It then I'll do it.**

**First, and most importantly, I'm sorry I forgot you.**

**I forgot about all of the Losers when I moved away at 17, it was slow and almost like a dull pain, but you all were gone from my mind before I knew it.I was mad that I forgot you most of all,you guys were the best of friends someone like me could ask for.Then again, maybe you guys forgot me too, we all forgot each other without us realizing it before it was too late. **

I paused from reading the letter, already feeling an itch or a crawling feeling going up my spine from knowing who wrote this and why they were giving me their own separate letter.It was painful, already having me feel tears threatening to com as I went on

**Secondly, and this is a long shot when I say this: I was in love with you.**

**Not the drastic kind fo love that adults feel when they're with someone, mine was simpler and softer.We were kids, obviously, and my feelings were you came over me when I first met you.After Bill and I joined you, Eddie and Richie as friends, I felt something different when I was around you.I felt safe, secure, and overall loved.The others were great as friends, of course, but with you, it was different and good.You were such a good person, Molly, and you didn't see my personalities as nuances.You were a shining light to me, and I guess my crush for you never left, but as I said, I forgot about it after I left you all.**

I fell back in my chair, dazed and confused as to what I just read.I was getting a huge reality check from reading this, my breath feeling shallow and hard as I was picturing Stan in my head.The same young Stan from childhood who always smiled for me always wanted to be around me and was always positive to me.I was blinded, somehow I was for certain, from not seeing what was plainly in front of me.

**I know this is very much a scandal to write you this since I'm married and you're probably married too.You have to be since you're a literal angel on earth.But to me, in the end, I knew you belonged to someone else when we were kids.There was no real way we could be together, and I learned to live with that.Sure it was hard, not to mention painful at times, but who was I to stand in the way of fate.I'm too much of a coward, way worse then than I am now, and I was too afraid to say something or to make some kind of gesture to you.I didn't want to ruin our friendship that I loved far too much, so I decided to step aside and let Richie make his move.**

**Please know that I did all that I could do and I wanted to leave it on a good note between the both of us.It's no one's fault but mine what I'm about to do when I'm done writing this.But I only ask in return that you stay true to yourself: be the hero we all know you can and will be.**

**Yours,**

**Stanley**

Once again, I let the letter drop from my fingers back onto the desk with the first letter as I heard a commercial come on.This was worse than the first letter, way worse now as I was feeling a string of tears coming through my eyes now as I was re-hashing my somewhat moment I had with an adult Stan at the hands of It.Maybe it was Stan, but I knew it was all in my imagination and he was dead.I heard the phone call that Beverly did with Stan's wife: it was clear he did kill himself.But now, it was an open wound all over again.

My cell phone rang, having me look down to see it perched on the desktop.I saw the name at the top and I gasped as I hit the green button, placing the phone right to my ear now.

"Hey, Molly!"

"H-Hey, Big Bill," I said softly as I wiped the tears from my eyes with my fingers now.Hearing BIll's voice was a bit soothing, but it wasn't helping enough.

"Hopefully I didn't get you at a bad time, but I wanted to call about the HBO Special.I'm watching it from my hotel room here in LA, he's killing it!" Bill explained with his deep soothing voice as I nodded, still looking at the letter now in front of me.

"He's great, yeah," I said almost in a hiccup, having me hearing nothing on his end for a second now as I blinked a few times, frozen in my chair.

"You okay?" He asked me tentatively as I was almost feeling my throat close up now. 

"I got Stanley's letter today," I explained shortly, still looking at the handwritten letters on the screen as I heard Bill shift around a bit now, "I didn't get it until today since Richie and I were moving, but I just read it."

"Shit," Bill muttered, "How are you doing then?"

"I…I don't know," I admitted, "I feel like…like I was missing him this whole time and now it's happening all over again."

"I felt the same way when I read my letter," he explained, "But Molly, I read it over and over and I know that he wants us to live on, and to lean on each other like we did when we were kids.We owe that to him," Bill explained to me as I was looking at the second letter that was meant only for me.I was beyond tempted to mention the second letter, but I didn't since it felt like my tongue was thick and attached to the roof of my mouth then. 

"I miss him still, Molly.We all do, trust me, but it'll be okay," He said some more in the phone as I was seeing the Special come back on from a commercial break.I sighed, having to realize that we were all needing to move on from what we went through, and from how much we missed Stan.He did what he had to do, which to me didn't make sense, but I guess it was something else I had to live with at the moment.

"I'll take your word for it," I reminded him, hearing him laugh sincerely.

"You better, I am an author after all." He replied smoothly as I then chuckled.

"I meant as our fearless leader, but sure," I joked,"So, you're in LA?"

"Yeah. I came here to meet for probably a movie deal from one of my earlier books," Bill replied, "And I was thinking, maybe I can swing up to San Francisco to a few days to see both you and Richie."I grinned, placing the phone against my shoulder to balance it as I was placing both letters back in the stack to take home. 

"That sounds perfect, Big Bill. Richie will love seeing you."

True to his word, Bill came up a few days later and stayed with us at our new penthouse home.We were showing him around the city, Richie already getting recognized on the streets from his Special, along with Bill too.I was amused to be the one no one knew as they were flocked a few times when we were out to dinner.But I was grinning, Richie taking his new status smoothly like a duck to water and Bill was more humble about it.Richie held my hand the whole dinner, his arm draped behind my chair as one fan asked me, "You're the girlfriend."

"Yes, and I am counting my lucky stars with her," Richie commented as he squeezed my shoulder lovingly.I rolled my eyes.

"It's harder for me, trust me," I reassured the fan, hearing the fan laugh as Bill chuckled on my other side.The three of us walking around some more before we headed back home to watch some old movies and be in each other's company.I was glad to see Bill and Richie together as old best friends, the way they interacted together was smooth and natural.Bill looked more relaxed than he ever did before, and I knew he needed this getaway.

* * *

I woke up early the next morning with a flannel blanket wrapped around me and sitting out at the balcony out fo the master bedroom.I was watching the marine layer sink through and over the skyline and the coolness hitting the small and yet distinct view of the open ocean.I woke up from a nightmare that morning, and with small difficulty from getting out from being underneath Richie's sleeping arm, I was sitting in one of the patio chairs and watching the fog roll by for at least twenty minutes on my own.

Stan was fogging my brain, his face was etched clearly and the letters were haunting me.There was still so much to digest and so many unanswered questions, but the worse thing of it all was that I was feeling like I should have helped or stopped him from doing what he did.

My legs were drawn to my chest and my arms were wrapped around me, my blanket was draping int he warmth now as I was so quiet and still in my own brain it was frightening me.The others got the same letter, but I had a spare one of my own which made it worse.Once again, the guilt of not protecting Stan was getting me within the gut now, it was the same feeling that I experience when e lost Eddie down in the sewers.

The slider behind me opened, the soft sound of feet was heard was it was coming up behind me now, but I stayed quiet.I felt a cry gently hand on my shoulder, I knew that touch anywhere at this point as I was resting my chin on my knees and blinking slowly.

"Hey," I heard Richie behind me, having me breathe out and finally use my voice the first time thins morning.

"I got my letter from Stan," I said, hearing him say nothing now as I was looking dead ahead, "It looked too goddamn long because of the fucking move but I read it all, word for word.How can he be okay with us moving on when…when he's not here?"

Richie slowly moved over and got the second chair to be right next to my own and he slowly and carefully moved his hadn't over to touch my knees under the blanket.He took in his own shutter of breath as he leaned back a bit in the chair and looked hesitantly out too.

"I got mine right before we moved here," He explained, having me slowly look at him as he clicked his tongue, "I didn't say anything since we were moving and…I didn't want you to get upset."

"I'm not upset…I'm just sad," I commented to him.

"Yeah, I know.So I said nothing, but yeah….yeah I miss him too," He admitted, squeezing my knee as he cleared his throat, "Ben told me not to tell you since he thought it would make you sad."

"Ben is far too good for our group," I commented.

"Practically a saint," Richie said in agreement as I looked over to see him up and down.He was in his pajamas, which consisted of thin flannel pants and an old Beatles T-Shirt.I unwrapped the blanket on my right side, then placing the other end of the blanket over Richie's shoulders.I felt bad that I was hogging all of the blankets to myself and my own misery while Richie was trying to support me and care for me.

"Of course you would be taking care of me," Richie grumbled as I gave him a careful look, pausing in my efforts to get him warm.I slowly move my arms back, feeling like I was stung just from his words.Wasn't it always my goal: to take care of the others?I felt obligated to, and there was no hesitance with me decided to put others in front of me.But this was a first, hearing it from Richie of all people that it was part of my DNA, and he said it bitterly almost. 

"You were cold," I muttered.Richie rubbed his face within his hands now as I nodded his head.

"I know, I know," He replied quickly now as he then trapped both of my hands within one fo his own as the other reached over to snug the blanket within my embrace, "The thing is, Molly,Ben and I were looking out for you because someone needs to.You've looked out of us all of our lives, someone needs to take care of you now,"

"You are taking care of me," I reasoned with him, seeing him look over at me now with confusion on his face.He had stubble all over his face from not shaving for a while, his messy hair was almost growing back out to be long again, his glasses were on slightly crooked and he still looked rather sleepy and out of it.But to me, he was perfect, and the fact that he was loving me just for me and my imperfections was enough.

How? He signed to me carefully, genuinely wondering how he was the one taking care of me.There were plenty of times he did just that, most of it under the radar when he didn't see it himself. 

Loving me I signed back smoothly looking at him dead in the eyes now since he was letting it once again sink under his akin.I wasn't going to go this far and have me hit some kind of stumping block, we were too far gone for something like that.I pressed a sweet kiss against his stubbled cheek and rested my head on his shoulder as he snuggled in closer to me.We were comfortable there together, knowing how to take care of each other, and it took me up until this point to have my eyes opened to how the others were watching out for me in this unsettling time. 

Stanley asked us to protect each other, and that's what I was about to do.

* * *

**One Year Later**

**Los Angeles**

"Wow…."

"I know!"

"I mean, the ending the really good….but wow!"

"Trust me, I know!"

"You guys, Bill nailed it this time,"

"Yeah he did,"We were all waiting for Bill out in the lobby of the theater in Los Angeles as the Premier of his latest thriller came to a successful end.The 5 of us were all reunited once again to see the Premier, all of us being VIP and we were in the heart of Hollywood.We all agreed to come in a heartbeat, not wanting to miss his newest movie since apparently, the last one that came out was a sucker. 

Richie was getting to the top of the comedian field, getting asked to be on SNL not just once but already having a spot in the following year because of how popular he was.He was also hosting a few stand up shows that became well known.He was beyond popular, beyond well recognized anywhere we would go.Of course, he was still himself when we were together, and yet at the same time, he would drink it all in. 

I was still working at the Police Department. moving up to being Deputy Chief within a few months of being back from Derry one year ago.I was looking over the hiring of new officers, getting new regulations underway within SFPD, and also in talks with the San Francisco Government.It was nice being so close to home, and I would rarely be out on patrol now that I was handing more of the administrative side things.Of course, I would have times that stress would take over when I would come home, Richie was always there with a big hug,telling me quirky stories of what his agent wants to do with him and his future job offers.It made me smile every time, and I knew Richie was looking out of me.

I needed help every once in a while.

We stayed in contact over time with the other Losers.Ben and Beverly got engaged within a few months after we split once again, I was being in her bridal party with the other Losers being the groomsmen.We were beyond excited for the wedding to come through, and of course Ben and Beverly were going to have an over the top wedding because of both of their careers in Architecture and Fashion.It was going to be the wedding of the century, and we were all in it.

Mike moved down to Florida, finding his own spot there along the coast and was living his best life there away from Derry for the first time in his life.We would get constant pictures and texts of his random adventures there along the white sands, learning how to fish from the locals and getting involved with plenty of volunteer opportunities.He still had a heart of gold after all, and I knew he was still trying to make it up to us with what happened, how he felt that guilt under his skin from time to time.

Of course, Bill's latest book was a huge success and his newest movie was the thriller of the year.He too was giving us updates from production and the set, in which we were all excited and giddy for him.He wrote a character in the thriller based on his younger brother Georgie, and with his new taste of stardom coming through in the writer's world, we were beyond excited for his new film to come through.

"There he is!" We all looked over to see Bill emerging from the theater with his wife Audra on his hand.She was radiant in her dress, beaming for her Husband as we all cheered at his appearance.We all took turns hugging and shaking his hand before we all made out own circle.

"What a movie, great job Big Bill!" Mike said in glee now as he clasped BIll's shoulder.Audra rested her head on his shoulder.

"He did a wonderful job," Audra said in agreement as Bill kissed her on the head, "One of his best ones yet,"

"Yeah you know, that one job scare that made me almost shout like a little girl was good enough for me," Richie said in agreement and with a snark, the rest of us giggling from his joke.

"I think we nailed it good with this one, and the director did most of the work making it look good…" Bill trailed off as I shook my head.

"You did most of the work, you're just being modest," I argued with him, "It's okay to take a little bit of credit."The others nodded in agreement now as Richie squeezed my shoulder with his spare hand as the other hand was shoved in his pocket.

"So, I take it there's an after-party?" Beverly asked sheepishly as Bill grinned, nodding his head and then quickly looking behind us over his shoulder.

"There is, but to be completely honest, it's a bit too stuck up for our kind of crowd," Bill admitted as I saw Richie give him a look with a raised eyebrow.

"Who, us?This motley crew?Nah, we're good," He joked, having me slap him in the chest just to quiet him down.

"How about we hit a bar downtown," Bill suggest with a shrug of his shoulders, "I know a good place that has great burgers."

"You're talking my language," Ben joked as Beverly snuggled into him.We were all grinning now as Bill lead the way over to the valet.We were all huddled together as a group, which was how it was supposed to be.Hearing Richie quote some the movie with his arm around my waist and the cool air hitting our faces from being inside the theater, it was a perfect evening to an outing with the Losers Club. 

It was a good sign that we were moving on, that nothing as holding us back and nothing was placing us to a halt.We all deserve this kind of life, a life that had no fear and no death surrounding us.Sure there were times of sadness when we thought of Stan and Eddie, but we knew they wanted us to live on and they wanted us to be happy.There had to be someplace where they were, watching us and waiting for us in a way.But all I could think about was our group together, alive and well.

I looked down at my hand that was in my blazer pocket, pulling it out slightly as the others were talking amongst each other.There, on my left ring finger, there was a significant engagement ring that I hid int he pocket.I grinned, seeing it glimmer in the light. 

Richie proposed to me at my office in front of my entire department, apparently wanting it to be authentic and catching me off guard.Of course, I had to say yes since not only there was no hesitance in my decision, but all of the officers and my boss were witnesses too.It was beyond perfect, then my boss than giving me the rest of the day off to celebrate with him. 

But right after the engagement, I asked Richie that we would wait to tell the others. He was confused as to why, but I felt like we could keep this together for just the both of us.I wanted it to be special and for us to focus on, nothing else coming between us.Since BIll's movie premier was coming soon, I didn't want to overshadow Bill as Richie rolled his eyes.

_"Of course you wouldn't want to step on Bill's toes! I doubt he could care," Richie tried to reason with me as we were sitting across from each other at our dining room table, though I gave him a look._

_"And yet you're about to marry me, you should know by now how I work," I explained, hearing him chuckle as he took my left hand.I saw the ring glisten on my finger, a surreal feeling there since I would have to get used to it._

_"Okay…but they're gonna be pissed at us for not saying anything," Richie said._

_"You mean Beverly?"_

_"Oh no, she'll skin me alive since she likes you best,"_

"You good?" Richie asked me as we were walking together and I shoved my hand back in my blazer pocket.I smiled widely at him, knowing precisely what to say to him.All of my life I wanted to know if I was going to be okay if I was able to survive on my own and to look out for myself.It took a group of Losers, some kind of cursed demonic clown, and a fight for my life to eventually get my answer.Nothing could have prepared for the love I would feel from 7 other people and losing two of them with my heartache, and a new love blossom in front of me that made everything glow. 

"Never better," I replied, both of us grinning from ear to ear as we were walking together into the night with our Losers Club.

The End


End file.
